The First Year of Maurading
by Aarg
Summary: MWPP cruise through their first year of Hogwarts. Sirius deals with family issues, Peter with inadequacy, Remus with being a monster, and James of being the only one in the group with the perfect life. Read as they form a bond of friendship between them.
1. The Train Ride

September 1, 1971, Kings Cross Station

Lily looked in the direction her sister had flounced off to and tried to hold back tears. It wasn't her fault Petunia didn't have magic. They had been friends once, best friends, and now, her sister wouldn't even speak to her.

Her parents walked over and spoke to her comfortingly. "Don't worry about Petunia." Said Mrs. Evans. "We'll talk to her. She'll come around."

Lily looked up at her mother. Somehow, she wasn't so sure. It had been years since she had met Severus, and still, Petunia had not changed. She had done her best to ignore Lily's abilities, but with one sister heading off to a world of magic and the other remaining behind, it could no longer be ignored. "You think so?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Of course," Mrs. Evans replied firmly. "You know how Petunia loves to be dramatic."

"You're sisters." Her father said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be just fine."

But as the train blew the final whistle, and the family made their goodbyes, the older sister was noticeably absent. Lily did her best to smile and pretend all was well, but when she finally found a compartment on the train in which she would not be noticed, she could not help but cry.

She heard Severus come in and take the seat across from her but she pressed her face against the window, refusing to look at him.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constrained voice, wishing more than anything that he hadn't caught her at such a moment.

"Why not?" He sounded hurt and confused, and she knew it wasn't his fault, but Lily was too miserable to care.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

Lily whipped her head around and glared at him fiercely. "So she's my sister!" Feeling the tears still trickling down her face, she flushed and bent her head, hoping no one had seen as she quickly mopped her eyes.

When she looked up, Severus was still speaking. "But we're going!" He sounded more excited than she had ever heard him before. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

She nodded and half smiled in spite of herself. They were riding off to a new world, one of magic and excitement. They had waited years for this and even the thought of Petunia couldn't dampen it for her completely.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus, but before she could answer, a rude voice interrupted.

"Slytherin?" A boy repeated derisively, just coming into the compartment. He was small and slight, with glasses and messy black hair. Yet, something about him told Lily that he was used to being spoiled and had let it get to his head. She disliked him for it instantly. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He asked the tall, dark haired boy sitting opposite him.

Lily was pleased to hear the other boy disagree. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he replied without smiling.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" Said the first boy in surprise.

Severus sneered. "Where are you hoping to go, given the choice?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart!" The boy answered, pretending to wield a sword. "All my family have been for ages."

Lily exchanged a slight grimace with Severus, who made a small, disparaging sound.

The boy turned around. "Got a problem with that?" he challenged.

"Well if you'd rather be brawny than brainy - "

This time it was the tall one that interrupted. "Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"

Lily looked at both boys with disgust. She had had enough. "Come on Severus," she said standing up. "Let's go find another compartment."

Walking out, she could hear the boys imitating her voice and resisted the urge punch them both in the face. Whichever house she would end up in, _they'd _better not be in it.

* * *

"See ya, _Snivellus!_" Sirius yelled after them laughing before turning around. That was when he realized there was a problem. Out of their mutual distaste for the Snivellus git, he had overlooked something: the messy-haired boy had proclaimed Gryffindor aspirations and belonged to a family long at odds with his own.

The other boy stuck out his hand with a grin, but Sirius did not take it. "I'm James Potter." He said as Sirius' smile dropped.

"Black." He replied coolly. "Sirius Black."

It did not take long for James Potter to withdraw his hand.

"Black?" he repeated, in a repulsed tone. Certain wizarding families simply despised each other upon principle.

"You got a problem with that?" Sirius answered, standing up. He did not know what made him say his next words, but somehow, before he knew it, they were out of his mouth. "I've heard about _your _family. Blood traitors the lot of them."

Wands flew out as each eyed the other with the utmost loathing, but before either boy had a chance to fire a hex, the compartment door opened once again. It was Andromeda Black, Sirius' cousin, and a 6th year Slytherin Prefect.

"Sirius, what are you - " she stopped. Her eyes landed on Potter and a slight frown appeared on her refined face. "Wands away, both of you." She said sternly, before giving her cousin a meaningful look. "Sirius, come with me please."

Andromeda pulled her cousin out of the compartment and slammed the door behind them before berating him. Her gray eyes snapped indignantly.

"Merlin's socks, Sirius! You haven't been on the train ten minutes and you're already getting into trouble. What were you thinking? You're lucky I was there or you could have gotten yourself in detention! And _really, _of all the compartments you could have sat in, you just had to go looking for the one with a Potter in it!"

"Hey! I didn't - "

" - If you don't watch out you'll be expelled before even setting foot into Hogwarts. _Dueling, _honestly! How would your mother feel if she knew about this?"

Sirius scowled. "Pleased, maybe. She might finally think I'm 'showing the proper pureblood spirit.' Though I doubt it. Nothing I do is ever good enough." He said bitterly, looking away.

His cousin's eyes softened immediately. "Sirius," she said gently. "I know your mother can be - hard on you, but she only wants the best for - for the family."

"I know _that_. As heir, I can't let the family fall into disrepute." He mimicked what his mother had told him so many times in the past and aimed a kick at the floor. "It's not like I don't try you know. I do! I listen to the longest lectures about the same bloody things, I learn spells you know I can't stand, but I can never please her. The way Mother goes on, you'd think I was trying to ruin the family name. It's just no fun listening to her talk about passing legislation for Muggle-hunting or getting rid of half-breeds when I could be - "

" - Running around breaking things and blowing up the house?" Andromeda asked drily. In all honesty, she was quite proud of his audacity. She, like the rest of the family, was terrified of the Black family matriarch. "Really, with your nerve, I'm worried you'll land yourself in Gryffindor." He laughed at the idea. "Don't worry though," she continued reassuringly. "It'll get better. You already know a good number of spells and you're plenty powerful. You're a Black after all. I know she expects a lot from you, but you'll manage."

"Thanks, Andromeda." He said appreciatively, and he meant it.

His cousin smiled back. "Now if I leave you alone, will you _try _to stay out of trouble? I'd like to make Head Girl next year - "

"- Eww." Sirius interrupted, but she ignored him.

"- and I don't need you going about ruining my reputation. I have to go back to prefect duty, and it seems that Lucius Malfoy would rather spend his time snogging my sister than doing his job." She shook her head in displeasure. "I swear, if it weren't for Cissy, I'd report him_._"

Eager to run off, Sirius offered his sincerest promises to keep his nose clean. But as he turned to leave, she stopped him abruptly.

"Sirius," she said meeting his eyes with a sudden intensity, "no matter what Aunt Walburga says, I think you'll do us all proud."

He looked up at her with a smile that would one day break a great many hearts. This was why Andromeda was his favorite cousin. Not only because she didn't practice curses on him, or lift up her nose when he walked by, but because she treated him like family.

…

Sirius had meant it when he promised to stay out of trouble. However, this was easier said than done. He had not walked ten feet before coming upon another cousin, Bellatrix Black, and her gang of seventh-year Slytherins crowding in the middle of the corridor. Immediately, he turned to go in the other direction, for she looked bored and a bored Bellatrix was never a good sign. But her next words brought him to a halt.

"First year, aren't you?" That was Bella's voice, haughty and cold. "You look like a Mudblood."

He spun around, in confusion. But she was not speaking to him. She was speaking to a small brunette whom she and her friends had just encircled.

He could hear Bella's sneer as she spoke to her newfound prey. "We don't like your kind here at Hogwarts. You should go back where you came from, _Muggle._"

"I'm - I'm a witch. I can do m - magic" the girl stuttered in reply. "Please, I'll show you."

One of Bella's friends laughed unpleasantly as together, they all pointed their wands in her face.

"Oi!" Sirius suddenly yelled out instinctively.

Bella's gaze flickered over to him in annoyance, then recognition. "Oh it's you," she said carelessly. "Come join in the fun."

Sirius didn't move. He glanced around nervously at his cousin and her friends. It had just registered in his mind how very tall they all were. Looking back at the frightened girl, he felt an unexpected wave of pity. He did not know where it came from. She was only a Mudblood after all, and yet, he knew what it was like to have Bella's wand pointed at his throat, knew very well what she would likely do.

"Well hurry up. There's a new spell I've been wanting practice on." Said Bella impatiently, but Sirius still didn't move. He supposed that he could join them in turning the girl into a pile of pulp. He would do so if he had any sense of self-preservation and it would have to gain his mother's approval wouldn't it?

He walked over and raised his wand. He had power now. It was supposed to feel good.

"Cru-" Bellatrix began, but her cousin had gone mad. Sirius tackled her, and the sheer surprise of it made her fall over, knocking over the rest of her gang like a row of dominoes.

Too late, his rather dull sense of self-preservation kicked in. Sirius hurtled down the train corridor, dodging the hexes and curses they hurled his way as best as he could. It wasn't long before he reached the front of the train, and there, faced with nowhere to go, he spun around to make his last stand.

_"Expulso," _he shouted, and the scene before them exploded into smoke and dust.

* * *

"Firs'-years, firs'-years," A gruff voice called out.

Remus Lupin looked over to the source of the sound and stared in amazement. The man was so tall he had to crane his head to see, but when he met the man's eyes, they seemed warm and kind. He smiled tentatively and was relieved to see his smile returned.

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys," the man introduced himself as the first-years gathered around. They had finally calmed down after the incident on the train. Rumor had it that someone had achieved the impossible: a first-year had managed to get himself expelled before even reaching the castle. Every account of who it was or how it happened or what happened or if it even happened differed but as they walked down the narrow path to the edge of a great, black lake, all was forgotten. A murmur of amazement passed through the crowd as a vast castle perched atop a lofty mountain, just behind a glimmering star-studded lake appeared before them.

"No more than four to a boat," Hagrid called to them and obediently, Remus stepped in.

Three other students climbed in after him - they seemed to know each other - and he offered a smile at the occupants. He was unprepared for their sneers.

"Where'd you get _your _robes?" One of the boys said insolently as he eyed the fraying edges of Remus' sleeve.

"And that scratch on your face," another added as Remus reached up to cover his scar.

"Are you pureblood?" A girl asked suspiciously.

He frowned. He had not expected so much hostility. "Does it matter?" He settled by way of reply, but a horrible thought that had long lingered in the periphery of his mind was brought back once again to the forefront. Fingering the lengthy scar that ran down from his left ear to the edge of his chin, he wondered if it was even possible for him to keep this up. And what if – even assuming his condition _could _be kept a secret – everything still went wrong? Would all the students like this? He noticed that many of these first-years had already made friends back on the train. All he had done was keep his nose stuck in a textbook during the whole of the ride. Would he go through the next seven years the way he had spent his last seven - lonely and friendless?

Well, he supposed bitterly, he was a werewolf. They were used to it. He was lucky simply to be given the chance to attend school, what was the point of wishing for the moon? In fact, it was probably better that he didn't make friends. That would make their inevitable abandonment of him far more bearable.

Though it did not take long for the boat to touch the shore, the walk up to and through the castle did nothing to calm his nerves. But as Professor McGonagall threw open the door to the Great Hall to usher them in, Remus found himself too in awe of the grandeur and the extraordinary enchantments to dwell on much else. Remus was no stranger to magic, but he had never before seen a ceiling bewitched to look like the night sky or thousands of candles floating in midair. As the deputy headmistress led them up to a three-legged stool with an ancient looking hat sitting on top, he held his breath.

The hat began to sing, and when it finished, McGonagall began calling out the names of incoming first-years.

"Avery, Warren." She said, and one of the boys Remus had shared a boat with step up and placed the frayed hat on his head.

"Slytherin," the hat shouted after a moment, and with a contented smirk, the boy walked over to the cheering table decked in green and silver. Remus was not surprised and made a mental note to stay away from him.

Baisly, Ruby was next and after a short pause, became the first Ravenclaw.

Next to be called was "Black, Sirius."

At once, the students began to whisper among themselves.

"That's the boy who blew up the Prefects' Compartment," said a blonde girl with pigtails.

"Are you sure, Wendy? I thought he was expelled." Another girl asked, eyes wide.

"Positive. My sister was there and she saw the whole thing."

"How did he do it though?"

"With dark magic, I'll wager." Wendy replied, throwing the boy a dark glance. "Haven't you heard of the family..."

Remus watched the boy strut up to the stool. He had none of the hesitation that had marked the previous students. He seemed to know the whole school was talking about him and relished it immensely.

With a cocky smirk, Sirius Black slipped the hat over his head. He wasn't surprised by how quickly the hat made up its mind. He was surprised however, by the House it chose.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted as it barely grazed his hair.

That wiped the smirk off his face. The hall was silenced for a moment as the Gryffindors stared blankly at one another.

Then Professor McGonagall spoke up. "Well hurry up, Mr. Black."

She gave a succinct nod and Black, all traces of haughtiness disappeared, walked over to the table decked in red and gold. Sporadic applause emerged and murmurs broke out as he sat down. Remus looked over and noticed that those around him scooted as far away from the boy as possible. Everyone was wondering if the Hat was malfunctioning.

Remus found himself more and more nervous as the L's came up. If a Black could find himself in Gryffindor, could a half-blood werewolf find himself in Slytherin? It was a terrifying thought.

Finally, his name was called. Holding his breath, Remus walked up to the Sorting Hat and tentatively placed it on his head.

"_Hmm," _the hat said softly. "_You're not an easy one, are you? Not very confident, but you're braver than you know. Much braver. But you'd have to be wouldn't you. Though you don't lack brains either, so Ravenclaw's definitely an option. Mmm, but you're loyal too...and you've got quite a thirst to prove yourself. You want to show them it wasn't a mistake to let you here, I see."_

"Not Slytherin," Remus thought desperately.

_"No, you're no Slytherin...though it's a popular house these days.__ Hmm alright, I've made my decision and I daresay you'll be pleased." _

And before Remus knew it, the Gryffindor table had erupted in cheers and he could not keep the grin off his face as he walked over to be greeted with back slaps and high fives. Never mind that it would be full moon within a fortnight, never mind that the scars still protruded on his face, and arms. For now, everything was all right, and for the first time in years, he felt as though he belonged.


	2. Gryffindor

The First Years were waiting apprehensively to be sorted and rumors flew about.

"I heard there's a test we have to do in front of the whole school. My brother said it's really hard." One girl whipered. Another boy told them something about having to wrestle a troll.

"Actually, we have to slay a dragon." James said with a grin. "They sort us by our style of fighting. A lot of people don't pass and get eaten."

In truth, James did not know how they would be sorted. His parents had refused to tell him, revealing only that everyone would end up going to the House they would fit best in. James knew it would be Gryffindor for himself.

The ghosts began entering through the walls and it was difficult to tell who was more pale - them or the students. Peter Pettigrew, one of the boys James had made friends with on the train, looked ready to faint. James was not entirely sure why he had befriended Peter, who was small and pudgey and not very bright, but when the other boys in his compartment told Peter to go away, James had interrupted and moved over to make room. The others grudgingly let Peter stay, but James was the only one who talked to him during their ride.

When Professor McGonagall came back in to lead everyone into the Great Hall, the rumors of dragon-slaying and troll-wrestling and a number of others were all dispelled. The First Years lined up in alphabetical order and an old frayed hat sitting on a wooden stool began to sing.

* * *

Sirius did not have to wait long for his turn to come. When McGonagall called his name, Sirius loped over to the chair and cockily pulled the frayed hat over his eyes.

_Slytherin. _He told the hat as soon as it touched his head. He knew where he would go.

Sirius thought he heard the hat give a _ha_. The reason soon became clear because it was not a second later before the hat shouted "Gryffindor!"

_No seriously. _He thought, but the hat didn't answer.

"Please go join your table, Mr. Black." Professor McGonagall said, but she looked at him a little curiously. Sirius was too fazed to argue.

The clapping was scattered, coming mostly from the mudbloods who weren't aware of the situation before breaking off in confusion. But Sirius did not notice. Nor was he aware of the number of students whispering and sneaking glances at the Black who did not end up where he was supposed to be.

Other students soon came and joined the Gryffindor table. There was the redhead from the train, Lily Evans, some shabby-looking kid called Remus Lupin, Mary McDonald whom Bella had tried to hex back on the train, Marlene McKinnon who was at least a pureblood, a pudgey boy called Peter Pettigrew, and worst of all, that short James Potter kid who had been going on about dwelling with the brave at heart or some idiocy like that. Mudbloods and blood-traitors, all.

Next in line was Severus Snape from the train. _Please please please don't put him in the same house as me. _Sirius thought desperately.

After a long deliberation, the hat called out, "Slytherin!"

But this was not good enough for Sirius. Why did that git who didn't even wash get into Slytherin while he, the heir of the Blacks, was stuck in Gryffindor? Was this Snape boy even pureblood? Sirius jabbed angrily at his empty plate with his fork. The rest of the Sorting was not worth listening to. He was _so _going to complain to Dumbledore.

As soon as the Sorting ended, McGonagall came over to his table with Avery, who had just been sorted into Slytherin and was the son of one of his parents' friends.

"_What?_" Sirius asked rudely.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "Miss Linton and Mr. Prewitt have just informed me of your escapade on the train. I would like the both of you to come with me right now."

Avery was glaring daggers at Sirius and looked like it was taking every bit of his self-control not to hex Sirius. Sirius offered an infuriating grin before following the teacher out the Great Hall, where the Head Boy and Girl were both patiently waiting.

"Well Linton, Prewitt? Who did it?" Professor McGonagall asked with a frown. Her lips were pressed together.

"It was me." Sirius said cheekily. "Honestly, do you think Avery could of thought up something that brilliant?"

McGonagall ignored his cheeky tone. "In that case Mr. Avery, you may return to the feast. I will not need to call Professor Slughorn." After Avery left, she turned to Sirius.

"Well, Black? Explain yourself."

"Do you want to know how the Bat-Bogey Hex works, how I managed to jump out of the train, or how I made the badges say Head Prat?" He asked, not in the least bit daunted.

McGonagall turned to Linton and Prewitt who gave her the _what did I tell you _look. "You didn't tell me he performed the Bat-Bogey Hex on someone!" Unwillingly, McGonagall was impressed. That was a rather advanced spell for a First-Year.

The Head Boy and Girl looked at each other. "We didn't know." Prewitt answered truthfully.

There was a muffled _thud _from the door to the Great Hall and Mary McDonald appeared, looking slightly scared. "Professor, it wasn't Black's fault. These Seventh-Years were trying to do something to me on the train and he stopped them."

She saw Sirius shaking his head furiously and stopped, unsure.

But McGonagall had already heard enough. "Continue please." She said to Mary, guessing correctly that Sirius wasn't going to be much help.

Sirius answered before Mary had a chance. "It was nothing! We were just walking and I cursed Bellatrix and ran. When I reached the end of the train, I went out through the window, and when I got back in, I was surrounded and those two came over asking for my name!" He said, jerking his head at the Linton and Prewitt.

"And then you decided to give them a name that was not your own, spoke very disrespectfully I might add, and changed the words on their badges."

"Er, yeah. That's about right." Sirius replied, nodding.

"But this all occurred because you were helping McDonald?" McGonagall persisted.

"I don't know her." He replied, glaring at Mary.

"So she had nothing to do with it?"

"Nothing." Sirius lied, and was extremely relieved that Mary took the hint to shut up.

McGonagall did not believe him but nor did she try to challenge what Sirius had said. Nevertheless, she let him off easily. "Very well. I am giving you a detention. At Hogwarts, you go to one of the prefects when you have trouble. You do not go around jumping out of trains. In addition, your behavior towards Miss Linton and Mr. Prewitt is utterly shocking. I expect you in my office tomorrow evening at 7:00 sharp and I would like you to write 'I will respect authority' 200 times.'"

Sirius hid a chortle with a cough.

"That is all, then." Professor McGonagall concluded. "You may all go back to the feast." Linton and Prewitt left, but Sirius still had something to ask.

"Wait - Professor, could I speak to the Headmaster? I want to ask him about changing Houses."

"We do not change Houses after we are sorted. However, if you wish to speak with the Headmaster, you may do so after the feast." She hesitated. "But you might find Gryffindor to your liking, Mr. Black." She said, and Sirius thought he saw a smile flit through her face as she swept back into the Great Hall.

When he tried to follow her through the door, Sirius found his path blocked by the McDonald girl.

"Do you mind?" Sirius asked rudely.

Mary McDonald did not move. "Why didn't you let me tell Professor McGonagall what happened?"

"I'd rather not let the whole school know that I went and helped a mudblood." He replied impatiently.

"You shouldn't say that word." McDonald said quietly. "I asked some girls on the train and they told me it's a horrid thing to say."

"What word?" Sirius asked. "I can't help it if you're a mudblood."

"They say your family hates muggle-borns."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sirius replied easily.

"Then why didn't you let them curse me?" McDonald asked, determined to find out the answer.

"Big mistake." Sirius replied. "Won't happen again, I promise. Now can I please go, or will I have to hex you, because I'mhungry, and there's loads of food waiting in there."

"No." She replied. "Tell me why first."

Sirius let out a frustrated groan. "Look, my cousin knows a lot of curses and she's really good at them. I was doing you a favor, alright? Why? I haven't a bloody clue. Can I leave now?"

Mary McDonald seemed satisfied with that. "I reckon the Sorting Hat's right. You do belong in Gryffindor. Thanks." And with that, she left, leaving Sirius in a bit of shock.

"Don't tell anyone!" He called to her as she walked off.

* * *

Sirius entered the Headmaster's office with none of the uncertainty that most students would have felt. He glanced at the portraits, and saw his great great grandfather, Phineas Nigellus pretending to be asleep. But Sirius had more pressing matters, and so, turned to the current mudblood-loving Headmaster, of whom his parents had few good things to say.

"Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said, getting straight to the point. "I need to change Houses."

Phineas Nigellus aroused himself from his feigned slumber. "And why would my great great grandson need to change Houses, may I ask?"

"He has been sorted into Gryffindor, Phineas." Dumbledore replied.

"WHAT?" Phineas Nigellus cried. "Impossible! He is a Black!"

"Excuse me, Professor Black, but I wish to speak to Sirius alone if you please." Dumbledore said firmly.

"He is my decendent." Phineas Nigellus replied huffily.

"And I am his Headmaster." Dumbledore said, his tone making it final."I wish to speak to him _alone_."

And with that, Phineas Nigellus left his portrait, indignant.

Dumbledore turned back to Sirius and smiled. "You know, you're the second person this evening to make that request."

"What?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Yes. Miss Lily Evans was first. She wished to join her friend Mr. Snape in Slytherin."

"Is she pureblood?" Sirius asked, confused. He'd gotten the impression that she was muggle-born from her conversation with Snape on the train.

"No, her parents are muggles. But she wished to be placed in the same House as her friend, and also to get away from a few students whom she met on the train." Dumbledore said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh." Sirius replied. Then, he was struck with a brilliant idea that would not only get him out of Gryffindor, but would also rid him of the greasy slimeball. "How about it I took Snape's place in Slytherin, and he takes mine in Gryffindor?" Asked Sirius, impressed with himself.

"I'm afraid that's impossible." Replied Dumbledore with a smile. "You see, the Sorting Hat's decision is final. We do not change after a student has been sorted. I notice you were sorted unusually fast. The Hat gives its students a choice you know, perhaps you have already made your's unconsciously." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

"I didn't ask for Gryffindor!" Sirius cried, outraged. "I put the thing on my head, I think _Slytherin_, the hat goes _hahaha, _and then it went and shouted Gryffindor!

"Perhaps you would like to speak with the Sorting Hat then?" Asked Dumbledore.

"Er - sure." Replied Sirius.

The Headmaster brought it over, and Sirius began to have a conversation with a _hat_.

"I suppose you're wondering why I put you in Gryffindor?" The hat asked pleasantly.

"Yes!" Sirius replied, not sharing the hat's pleasure. "I thought you take students choices into account!"

"I do. Which is why I said Gryffindor."

"I asked for_ Slytherin!_"

"Well, I could put you in Slytherin, but then I'd have to eat myself. Remember my promise to eat myself if I ever sorted a student into the wrong House?"

"Gryffindor's the wrong House!"

"My dear boy, you have no idea what you are talking about. You have all the qualities that Godric Gryffindor asked of his students, and all to an alarming degree."

"No I don't! And besides, my whole family's been in Slytherin for ages!"

"Seven centuries in fact. Which is why I found your case so very peculiar. But you see, it is not your family legacy that determines your House, but how you fit in with the people. You have associated with Avery and Mulciber and MacNair, have you not? I understand you do not like them."

"They're complete gits!"

"I rest my case." And with that, the Sorting Hat called to Dumbledore to let it rest.


	3. Howl

So, here's the next chapter. Tell me what you think. Sirius will join the crew hopefully, by the next chapter or the one after that. BTW-does anyone know when the 5th movie's coming out?

* * *

Remus Lupin felt blissfully happy as he followed the prefects to the Gryffindor common room. He was so glad to have been sorted into Gryffindor and was so amazed with Hogwarts that the knowledge of his condition did not weigh him down as it usually did. He had met and liked his fellow Gryffindors, with the exception of Sirius Black who had sat by himself and refused to talk to anyone throughout dinner before disappearing off somewhere.

He ran up the dormitory along with James and Peter. James seemed to have exhausted his complaints about Black and was now telling them about his plan to push "Snivellus" Snape into the lake at the first opportunity. Remus could not help but feel that this was rather unkind but kept his mouth shut; since getting bitten by a werewolf 6 years earlier, he had had no friends. He was not about to ruin that by challenging James Potter, who despite that, seemed a genuinely good person.

"I'll be doing Snivellus a favor." James continued laughing. "Bet it'll be the first time he'll have washed in years"

_All right. _Remus thought. _A good but _misguided _person. _

Remus could feel sympathy for Snape. After all, his robes were hardly in any better condition, and he knew how it felt to be made fun of and made an outcast. The redheaded girl looked like his only friend. Of course, washing your hair every now and then really _wouldn't _hurt and was it entirely necessary to be so fascinated with the Dark Arts? He had heard Snape talk about curses and hexes and found it to be a little unnerving.

Pretending to get some fresh air, Remus moved towards the window to get a glance at the moon. In two weeks, it would be full and round. In two weeks, he would transform into a werewolf under the shelter of the Shrieking Shack behind the Whomping Willow. If his new friends found him covered with cuts and bruises, would they make fun of him as they did Severus Snape? If James and Peter ever found out they were living with a werewolf, would they... Well, Remus would make sure that didn't happen.

"When do you think Sirius Black will be back?" Peter suddenly asked, bringing Remus out of his reverie.

James scowled. "Hopefully never. The castle's big. There's always the chance he wandered into the dungeon or something and won't be able to get out."

"You don't think he'll try anything, do you?" Peter asked, looking warily at Black's bed.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "He's not going to murder us in our sleep, Peter." Sure Black didn't seem particularly friendly, and certainly his family was well known for affiliating with the Dark Arts, but Peter's suggestion was going a bit far. Remus wondered what Peter would think if he discovered he was sleeping in the same room as a werewolf.

"Could we not talk about Black?" James said irritably. "I'd really rather not think about him right now. _I _was supposed to get the first detention, not that git!"

"You'll have plenty of chances tomorrow." Peter piped up.

"Yeah, I guess." James said. He sighed. "Though it would have been nice to have gotten the first one."

Remus found this kind of thinking rather odd, but decided not to comment. Whatever James's plans, Remus had no intention of entering the competition for most detentions earned in one year. It was kind enough of Dumbledore to let him come; breaking as many rules as possible would be a poor repayment.

James yawned. "You know, we should play a prank on him before he comes back."

"I'm kind of tired." Remus replied.

From the resounding snores coming from the other bed, it was clear Peter was already asleep.

"Huh, yeah, I guess. Maybe tomorrow or something." James climbed into his bed and pulled down the curtains. "G'night."

"Goodnight." Remus replied. He smiled. For the first time, it felt as though he belonged. It felt good.

* * *

Sirius Black came down to the Great Hall that morning looking as though he had not gotten a wink of sleep. That however, did not prevent him from appearing somewhere between casual and perfect as he walked over to the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Seeming entirely unperturbed by the sudden hush that fell over the Great Hall at his appearance, and without speaking to a single student, he started buttering a blueberry scone and commenced eating.

Owls soon flooded the Great Hall, delivering letters to the students. James Potter received a letter from his parents telling him how proud they were he had made it into Gryffindor, how much they missed him already, in addition to a whole section expressing their thoughts of how wonderful their only son was. This was coupled with a giant package of sweets from home, something that would come regularly throughout his seven years at Hogwarts. A fellow first-year was sent a rather less welcoming envelope.

"Hey look!" Brooke Wilmer a fellow Gryffindor first-year, said pointing to a smoldering red envelope. "Someone's got a howler!"

James looked up to see. She was right. A vicious-looking owl was swooping down, dropping its delivery right in front of Sirius Black.

James glanced at him to watch his reaction. For a moment, he thought he saw fear on Black's face. Then, Black's face returned to the haughty, expressionless look it had formerly held, and James was almost sure he had imagined it.

Smoke was coming out of the howler now, but Black did not open it. Instead, he tossed the letter across the table like a frisbee and took a bite from his scone. All at once, a scream reminiscent of a banshee reached James's ears as he struggled to cover them in time. James was not the only one - in fact, the only student who did not have his fingers blocking his eardrums was Sirius Black, who had just dropped his blueberry scone in favor of a muffin, looking as though he could not hear a single sound.

"SIRIUS BLACK! HOW COULD YOU HAVE LANDED YOURSELF IN GRYFFINDOR WITH THE FILTHY MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD-TRAITORS? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE SHAME YOU'VE BROUGHT ON TO OUR FAMILY? YOU'VE BROKEN SEVEN CENTURIES OF BLACK TRADITION YOU BLOOD TRAITOR! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE MY SON, LET ALONE THE HEIR TO THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO TAKE YOU OUT OF THAT SCHOOL AND PLACE YOU IN DURMSTRANG!"

Mrs Black seemed to be taking a breath here, and James thought for a moment that it was all over. He was wrong; there was more.

"AND DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DID ON THAT TRAIN! BELLA TOLD ME HOW YOU TOOK THE SIDE OF THAT MUDBLOOD GIRL AND WENT AND HELPED HER! HOW DARE YOU? HAVE WE TAUGHT YOU NOTHING? I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TO YOU WHEN YOU GET HOME BUT DON'T EXPECT IT TO BE GOOD!"

And with that, the howler turned into a pile of ashes on the table and it was safe for everyone to uncover their ears.

Many of the Slytherins snickered once it was over, pleased to hear that the Blacks had been brought down a notch by Sirius's sorting. Everyone else was too shocked by the contents of the Howler to speak, everyone except Black.

"Pass me another scone, will you, Pettigrew?" Black called across the table. Peter was too shocked to do anything but.

James wondered how Black did it. He tried to imagine his own parents sending him a howler but couldn't. James could not remember the last time they had scolded him. And what was that part about helping a muggle-born about? Would Black really have done something like that?

As Sirius Black walked out of the Great Hall, the scone still in his hands, someone else voiced James's thoughts. Marlene McKinnon said quietly, "What was his mum saying about helping a muggleborn? He didn't actually do that, did he?"

"Of course not," James replied. "She must be mistaken. He's a Black."

Mary McDonald hesitated before speaking up. "She wasn't." She said defiantly. "He didn't want me to say anything but he saved me from his cousin and her friends yesterday on the train." Then, before the rest of them had time to reply, she got up and left too.

* * *

She found him sitting on a bench in a secret passageway.

"Hey." Mary said as she slowly approached him.

Sirius glanced up and she was taken aback by the look in his eyes. _Was it hate? No, _she decided. _It wasn't. _

"What do you want?" He snarled.

She hesitated. "You alright?"

"You think I care that my mother sent me a Howler?"

"I'd care." Mary replied softly. "And it was my fault you had to help me yesterday."

"I shouldn't have helped you, _mudblood_."

That hurt. "All right. I'm sorry you made that mistake then."

And with that, Mary ran out of the passageway.

* * *

Is it somewhat interesting? Any ideas to ways to annoy teachers? Again, please review.


	4. Enemies

Transfiguration really wasn't Peter's thing. After McGonagall had finished her lecture ("Anyone who messes around in my class will leave and not come back"), she had made the class take a page of complex note, not one part of which Peter understood. Now it was time for the practical, which, if anything, was far worse.

Barely 5 minutes had passed and already, he had managed to blow up his match. Professor McGonagall had not been pleased, and Peter had lost Gryffindor 2 points. Losing those points did not really concern him so much, but he was deathly afraid that his new friends would abandon him for someone cooler. Luckily, James had found it hilarious and Remus had thought it was no big deal.

Not long after, James became the first student to turn his match into a needle. Even McGonagall was impressed as she examined his needle and awarded 5 points to Gryffindor. Peter of course, took this opportunity to flatter James, who clearly enjoyed all the attention. A moment later, Sirius Black managed the spell. James was not pleased.

Because Peter, Remus, and James had arrived late, they had had no choice but to sit across from Black. This was not a good thing, and before long, Peter heard James and Black arguing, their voices getting progressively louder.

Black said something that even Peter's eavesdropping talent couldn't catch, but whatever it was, he managed to do away with any sympathy James had felt for him during breakfast.

"What are you doing in Gryffindor, Black? Why don't you join the rest of your family with their stupid Dark Magic in Slytherin?" James asked venomously.

"Well why don't you ask the Sorting Hat then Potter? Maybe it placed me here just annoy gits like you?" Black retorted.

"No one wants you here Black!"

"You're just jealous I got a detention before you did!"

That had crossed the line.

"Oh yeah?" James asked. "Well how many detentions is this Professor?" James pointed his wand at some random student and the said student's skin turned orange, making him somewhat resemble a carrot.

Black, not to be outdone, shot another spell at a classmate's feet, making her dance uncontrollably. "How many is this then?" He called to the teacher.

James immediately cast a Tickling Charm on a boy sitting a few feet away, making him unable to stop laughing. "What about that McGonagall?" James said, not bothering with the "Professor" title.

"Oh yeah? Well how many detentions would this be Minnie?" Black asked, but exactly what "this" was, no one really got to know.

Perhaps it was the nickname that brought Professor McGonagall out of her shock, but at any rate, she was furious. She quickly performed the freezing charm on the two boys who, at the beginning of class, had been her two star students, but who were now showing their true colors - her worst nightmare.

Lips tight, she surveyed the troublemakers. Peter had no doubt that James and Black would both be dead for sure. "Never, in all my years, have I..." She took a deep breath as though to steady herself. "That will be 20 points each from Gryffindor. Stay with me to talk at the end of class."

After she calmed everyone down, fixed the students' skin coloration, dancing, and laughing problems, she let them work in grim silence for the rest of the period. Peter and Remus glanced worriedly at James, who could not move his body due to McGonagall's charm.

When the bell finally rang, Remus considered dawdling to makes sure his friend would be all right, but with a glance at McGonagall, Peter convinced him out of the idea. Remus jerked his head toward the door as he looked at James, who nodded as the Freezing spell started to wear off. Peter followed him outside. Not entirely surprised, he saw the whole class gathered there to eavesdrop on what would happen to James and Black.

"They're going to be expelled for sure!" One girl whispered.

A bunch of students nodded.

"Well I hope so!" Lily said emphatically. Some of the victims agreed.

"I don't think they deserve to be expelled though." Remus spoke up. "They didn't do anything _that_ bad."

"Well, I thought it was kind of funny." One student said a little apologetically.

"Yeah." Another student joined in. "Can you believe they're _trying_ to get detention! And I can't believe Black actually called her _Minnie_!"

They all laughed.

"Well, I don't like them. Especially after what Potter did to Severus yesterday." Lily replied with a frown.

"You're defending that Slytherin?" They all looked at her incredually.

"So what if I am? He's my friend!"

Someone shushed them all. "Be quiet! She's talking to them right now!"

Remus heard voices coming in from behind the door.

"...am absolutely astounded by your lack of respect. This kind of behavior is completely unacceptable. I specifically said there is to be now messing around in my class. Neither of you deserve to come back to my classroom after that little stunt. However, I shall make an exception seeing as you are both new to Hogwarts. I do not appreciate your attempt to get as many detentions as possible on the first day of class. Mr. Potter, you are to join Mr. Black in detention tomorrow night."

"WHAT?" Remus heard both boys say at once. "I'm not going to detention with _him_!"

"That is not your decision to make. Mr. Black, if not for the fact that I know Mr. Potter would try and outdo you, I would give you a second detention. But perhaps after experiencing detention, you will both realize it is not something to look forward to. You are dismissed."

Peter heard footsteps coming their way. The rest of the eavesdroppers quickly scattered before they arrived. Only he and Remus remained to wait for their friend.

But neither James nor Black saw them at first. Once out of the classroom, James and Sirius confronted each other.

"I can't believe I got landed in a House with _you._" Black growled.

"Then I guess you better listen to Mummy and join Slytherin. But they don't want you either do they? Just face it Black, no one wants you. Even your own mother hates you!"

Though Peter was woefully lacking in terms of classroom talent, the same could not be said of his observation skills. James was too angry to see the hurt expression on Black's face at those words, but Peter did and found it unnerving. Fortunately, before Black had a chance to throw a punch at James, McGonagall appeared at that moment with a frown telling them to leave for their next class.

"Can you imagine the next 7 years with him in our dormitory?" James muttered to Remus and Peter as they walked off to Charms.

"You shouldn't have said that stuff to him though." Remus said so quietly that Peter wondered if James even heard. Clearly, Remus had caught the look too.

* * *

What do you think? Please review.


	5. Friends

Ok. I decided to update this right before the book comes out. However, I didn't bother touching anything up because I'm going to have to edit everything once the book comes. Hopefully, this chapter will be all right. Tell me what you think please!

* * *

Sirius was too caught up in his thoughts to see his cousin Narcissa as he walked towards his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. By the time he bumped into her, it was too late.

"Good to see you, Sirius." Narcissa said cooly, her lips curling up into a sneer. "Heard the letter Aunt Walburga sent you this morning. I don't think your mother's too pleased."

"Tell me, how did Lucius Malfoy react when he found out you're related to a Gryffindor, Narcissa? I hope he didn't mind. I'd hate to be the reason you two break up." This was probably not the most sensible answer, given Sirius's position, but Gryffindors were not famous for their good sense.

Usually, Narcissa was not one to act rashly, but there are certain subjects that make even the coldest people touchy. Lucius Malfoy thought no less of her because of Sirius's crime, but his friends thought differently, and Narcissa was very worried they would influence her boyfriend. She whipped out her wand, and would have been quite prepared to curse her cousin to oblivion if someone hadn't walked up from behind.

"Narcissa, no magic in the corridors. Put that away or I'll have to give you a detention." The speaker was Andromeda Black, a 6th year prefect.

"Andy - you wouldn't! I'm your sister!"

"And what your doing is against the rules."

The younger sister stared at her mutinously for a few seconds, before pocketing her wand and walking away. Andromeda looked back at her and sighed.

"Sorry Sirius. She's just upset a lot of her friends have been gossipping behind her back about - " She suddenly broke off, embarrassed.

"About my sorting." He finished. "Yeah, I gathered."

Andromeda looked apologetic. "What happened anyway? Didn't you ask to go to Slytherin?"

"Yes! And it ignored me!" Sirius replied indignantly.

"I see." She gazed down at him sympathetically. "Well, maybe you should try to make the best of it." She suggested. At Sirius's skeptical look, she continued, "Look, I'll tell you a secret. The hat considered putting me in Ravenclaw. I'm glad it didn't, but Slytherin are supposed to be good at securing our ends. If you don't want to be miserable for the next seven years, you would try to get along with your House-mates. I've heard James Potter has a history of making trouble. You two should get on fine. The Potters may be blood traitors, but they're also the most-respected purebloods in England so it could be worse."

Sirius didn't reply.

"Oh, and before I forget, nice Bat-Bogey Hex. Just stay away from Bella for a while. May I ask why you decided to help the McDonald girl?" Andromeda asked.

"I wasn't thinking." Sirius replied, annoyed.

Andromeda shook her head. "You've always been crazy, cousin. Anyways, I'll send a letter to your mother asking her not to send any more Howlers. I'll just tell her that it won't do the family any good to have its shame advertised to the whole world." She smiled to take the edge of the last few words.

"Thanks Andromeda." Sirius replied, returning the smile, the first he'd had on for a while.

* * *

Defense Against the Dark Arts was with the Slytherins. This was good news to none of the Gryffindors, with the exception of Lily Evans, but was particularly nasty for Sirius Black.

As he walked in, he heard Evans and Snape conversing; she sounded angry and hurt, he sounded pleading.

"Why don't you want to sit together?" She asked. "I thought we're supposed to be friends!"

"You don't understand. _They_ don't want me to sit next to you!"

"You mean Mulciber and the rest of them? Because I'm muggle-born? My friends don't understand why I'm talking to you right now but that's not stopping me!"

Sirius did not hear the rest, but found a seat in the back, away from everyone else. He noticed Evans and Snape ended up separating.

Their teacher, Professor Kenton was an old Welsh wizard whom Sirius decided he rather liked. After taking role, he said, "Many of you will have noticed quite a few fishy incidents publicized in the news lately. Dark Magic has been suspected in many of them. Now, more than ever, you will find a need to learn how to defend yourselves against those types of spells. Do any of you know useful incantations to defend yourselves with?" A few students raised their hands.

"Miss McKinnon?"

"Expelliarmus."

"Very good, 5 points to Gryffindor. The Disarming Spell. Miss McKinnon, would you mind if I demonstrated on you?"

She did not, and he performed the spell, making her wand soar in an arch over her head. "If I wished to be more forceful," he continued, "I could knock my subject off her feet. This is a simple spell, but can be quite forceful if I willed it to be. You will learn how to perform it this year." Kenton returned the wand to her and allowed her to return to her seat.

"Any others?" He asked, looking around.

"Protego." Sirius Black spoke up.

"Please raise your hand next time if you wish to speak, Mr. Black, but yes, the Shield Charm is very useful. Professor McGonagall has told me you know a few simple spells. Try _tarantagella _on me, and we will demonstrate how _protego _works."

Sirius complied and the professor blocked it with ease. "The Shield Charm is a little more difficult to perform - do not expect to learn this one for another few years. However, it is always good to have a good idea of these things beforehand. A strong shield could even make the attacker's spell rebound. Now, any other ways to defend yourselves?"

"Duck." James Potter called out and many students gave a laugh.

"Ahh, one of my favorites, though it becomes more difficult as you grow older." Professor Kenton replied with a smile. "Now Mr. Potter, if I sent a spell at you, do you think you could manage to dodge it in time?"

James replied in the affirmative, perfectly prepared to wow the class with his quick reflexes.

"Very well, on the count of three - one, two, three - " Purple light shot out from the teacher's wand and James quickly bent down.

"Perfect. Now, that was not a fast spell, but I see you have good reflexes, Mr. Potter. Perhaps you will try out for the quidditch team next year."

"I'm going be a Chaser." James replied, grinning cockily.

"Well, good luck with that, Potter._ Expelliarmus_, _Protego,_ and dodging are the basic foundations for self-defense. As you can see, a key part of Defense Against the Dark Arts is the ability to react quickly. Later, we will try to develop this, but for now, I would like everyone to take notes."

Macnair then raised his hand. "Professor, I was wondering if you could give us some information on what kind of spells we'd have to defend ourselves against. And what exactly classifies something as 'Dark Magic'?" He asked slyly, and Sirius rolled his eyes. He knew Macnair just wanted to find out if the teacher was any use for milking information.

"That is a good question." Kenton answered carefully. "There are of course, gray areas, but in general, Dark Magic is defined as magic done with the intention of doing great damage to the victim. Curses that cause someone excrutiating pain, or make them do what they don't want to do. Often, the damage is permanent. You will not get to explore Dark spells until your Sixth or Seventh Year, and even then, for defense purposes only."

Avery then spoke up. "Sir, how will we know what spells not to use if we don't learn until then?"

"I suggest you stick to what we teach you in class Mr. Avery. The Ministry has a list of illegal spells - the Darker the spell, the more severe the penalty. And I would advise the rest of the class that their conscience is not such a bad thing to use either. Now, if we are done, please begin copying what I have on the board." Kenton waved his wand and notes appeared on the board. After a few minutes, he went to his office behind the classroom where there was a window to keep an eye on everyone.

The students began whispering to each other as they copied the notes. The crowd of Slytherins did not sit too far from Sirius and he got to hear them discuss what they had just heard.

"I know plenty of Dark spells." Snape bragged to the rest of them.

They all looked at him skeptically.

Mulciber gave a sneer. "What did you say your surname was? Snape or something? How come I never heard of you?"

"My father came from Australia." Snape replied cooly. "I assure you, he is a pureblood. We only lost our fortune when the Australian Ministry discovered he had been hunting muggles. My mother was a _Prince_."

Avery frowned. "I've heard of the Princes disappeared from society about 20 years ago or so. There were rumors the daughter married a muggle." He said scornfully.

Snape whispered something as he flicked his wand and Avery's face turned a deep shade of blue. He looked as though he were unable to breathe. A few seconds later, Snape released him and everyone in the Slytherin crowd had a newfound respect for the boy whose mother was a Prince.

Sirius was very uneasy as he observed the scene, not to mention annoyed. Severus Snape was not the only student who knew of such magic. The Dark Arts was an area Sirius was unhappily familiar with; his family had made sure of that. This was one spell Bellatrix had tested him in the past and he had found the effects extremely unpleasant. Afterwards, she made him try it on a cat, and not expecting it to work, he complied, albeit unwillingly. When at last he managed the spell, he found himself even more disconcerted by what he'd done and had refused to continue. What resulted was not an experience he cared to repeat.

"Wow, Severus!" Said a Slytherin girl, impressed. "Can you show me that sometime?"

"Sure. I know tons of hexes just like it." Snape replied haughtily.

Sirius was resolved not to endure this any longer. But, as it turned out, Sirius was not alone in finding Snape horrible and extremely irritating. James Potter had chanced to hear the last little bit of Snape's conversation and seemed to share those very sentiments. He reacted by hurling wads of paper at Snape's head that said things like "Wash your hair!" and "Look at my big slimy nose."

Professor Kenton happened to glance through his window at that time and was not amused. He came out, took 5 points from Gryffindor and set James to writing lines ("I will be kind to my fellow classmates"). Sirius on the other hand, had to tell himself not to laugh - he had no wish to like his worst enemy.

James's bit of mischief spurred Black to perform more impressive feats. It was not that Sirius (or James for that matter) was innately cruel, simply that he was thoughtless and little concerned with the feelings of others. Neither was aware that this sort of thing was _wrong. _

Pointing his wand at Snape, Sirius etched the word "Snivellus" on the back of his victim's head. A few locks of greasy black hair fell to the ground. Titters and whispers were soon accompanied by pointing fingers from those sitting behind, but it wasn't until class ended that Snape realized something was wrong.

"Hey Snape_,_" Sirius jeered. "Like the new look."

Snape had no idea what Sirius was talking about, but he had no trouble finding something hurtful to say as payback for what had occurred on the train. "What was it your mother said this morning, Black? Something about shaming your family?" Snape had a special talent for finding what makes others tick.

"Listen _Snivellus_," Sirius growled harshly. "Just because I don't _use _Dark Magic doesn't mean I don't know how to. I'm a Black, remember? If you know what's good for you, _back off_!" He noticed Lily Evans was standing by and angrily strode away.

"He wrote Snivellus on the back of your head." Lily said, scowling.

"WHAT?" Severus cried furiously, bringing his fingers up to his hair. To be sure, he felt some places absent of hair.

"How do you get it off?" She asked, but her friend did not know. They went over to Professor Kenton's desk.

"Professor," Lily said. "Could you help Sev get rid of this?" She made Severus turn around.

The teacher frowned. "Who did it? Mr. Potter?"

"Black." Lily replied. "He was sitting a couple seats behind."

"Ahh." Kenton replied. He went to his office, grabbed a small bottle, and handed it to Snape. "This is a Hair-Growth Potion. Drink it and your hair should be back to normal in a few minutes.I shall speak to Mr. Black about this tomorrow."

"I'm going to make Black pay for this!" Severus said as soon as they left the classroom.

Lily agreed. "The teachers will only give him and Potter detentions and that's what they want! They're both such prats! Find something good."

* * *

Snape did have his revenge. It was _very _good. The next time Lily saw Sirius Black, he had something burned on the back of his hand, letters that spelled _Traitor. _Though Lily's new friends had not liked Sirius very much to begin with, they now sided with him out of a greater abhorence for Severus Snape.

"I didn't like him either," Marlene said hotly, "but Snape went too far."

Lily found it difficult to defend Snape, but tried anyway. "Well Black was the one who started it!" She argued. "He wrote Snivellus on the back of Sev's head!"

"You got rid of it in a few minutes, Lily! That burn takes a month to fade away."

"I thought you didn't like Black! And he calls students like Mary and me mudbloods!"

Mary McDonald joined in. "So does Snape with everyone except you! And no matter what he said, Sirius still helped me on the train. I can't see Snape doing the same. He chose the one thing that could hurt Sirius and now he's going to be reminded of that for a month!" Apparently, she had forgiven Sirius for what had occurred that morning.

"James Potter wrote nasty stuff on those paper balls he through at Sev! Why don't you say anything about him?" Lily asked furiously.

"James doesn't use Dark Magic though." Brooke Wilmer replied. "There's a difference. And Snape wouldn't even sit with you during Defense when you offerred. Why are you friends with him?"

This left Lily with nothing to argue; she would not speak to her friends as she walked off to Herbology.

* * *

Evening soon approached and everyone set off for a delicious dinner. James and his friends could not believe how quickly the day had gone by. Hogwarts already started to feel like home.

Everything would have been absolutely perfect if James's detention was not with Sirius Black. It would have been a moment of great significance and pride, when recounting the past: his very first detention, a prelude of many to come. A moment to remember for all of eternity. Except he had to spend that time with his arch-enemy. That totally ruined it.

James said goodbye to his friends after dinner and walked off to McGonagall's office. Sirius was already there, glaring at him.

McGonagall saw him and said, "Potter, I want you to start washing the windows. Black, when you're done with the lines, join him. The buckets and towels are right there. No magic. When I get back, I want them to be sparkling clean. Neither of you will be arguing or messing around or I will know. You are in the same house and I want you to get along." After a few minutes, she left the two boys to their work.

Sirius was the first to break the silence. "This is all your fault." He complained sullenly. "You know, I was really excited about this until you had to ruin it."

"My fault?" James sputterred. "You called my family blood traitors!"

"You _are _blood traitors! That's not my fault!" Sirius defended.

"Your family's obsessed with the Dark Arts and want to get rid of muggle-borns! That's not _my _fault!" James countered.

Sirius opened his mouth and then shut it. He had a point there.

James hesitated. "Hey-did you really help Mary McDonald on the train when some Seventh Years tried to curse her?" That question had been tugging at him all day.

Sirius glared at him again. "No. Is that what she told you?"

"Your mum this morning." James said uncomfortably, wondering why he was feeling terrible for bringing it up. He now regretted what he had said to Sirius in Transfiguration. After scrutinizing Sirius for a moment, he said, "You did, didn't you? You're not that good of a liar you know."

"Fine! So what if I did? It was three on one, it wasn't fair!"

James stared at him for a moment. Weren't the Blacks supposed to be among the Darkest of wizards? Weren't they supposed to hate muggle-borns? Then why would Sirius have helped Mary? Why did he care that the fight hadn't been fair? "Oh." James said at last. "No wonder you're not in Slytherin."

Sirius didn't reply but returned to his lines. Except he couldn't take his eyes off the word _Traitor_ burned on his hand. James Potter didn't think he belonged in Slytherin either. Was he really a traitor to his family? He didn't want to be. He hated that word. He knew that his mother practically despised him, and that the most his father felt for him was indifference. And if his little brother Regulus cared at all, he had a funny way of showing it. Yet, Sirius wanted more than anything to be loyal. He wanted to love and be loved. They were his family after all.

Andromeda had told him to befriend James. Would that make him a blood traitor too? His mother regarded blood traitors as one cut above mudbloods. But if Sirius was honest with himself, he would have to admit he had not found the muggle-borns so bad either. He regretted the way he treated Mary now. Sirius felt another tingle on his hand and turned it over so he couldn't see the word _Traitor, _but it was no use - he could feel it.

"Hey - what's up with your hand?" James asked with a frown.

"Nothing." Sirius replied carelessly.

But James had already seen it a a look of disgust crossed over his face. "Who did that?"

"Snape. After I wrote Snivellus on his head during Defense." Sirius answered, returning to his lines, writing more quickly than ever.

"Brilliant." James said, impressed. Then his tone changed. "Why don't you go ask Madam Promfrey to turn your hand back to normal?"

"I know the spell. It's Dark magic." Sirius muttered. "She can't do anything about the burn. Should fade in a month though."

"A _month_?"

"Yep."

"Want me to hex him for you?"

Sirius looked up and had trouble keeping down a grin. "What makes you think you can hex him better than I can?"

James looked at him with a smirk. "I'm better at pulling pranks than you too."

"No way! Remember who got the first detention? And I would have got another if it weren't for you."

"You were just lucky back on the train!"

They continued bickering in this manner until McGonagall returned and found the windows all cleaned and Sirius's lines all done. When she dismissed then, James and Sirius raced each other to the Common Room.

* * *

McGonagall arrived at the Teacher's Lounge and sank into a soft, lumpy armchair. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I've done something terrible," she said with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Professor Flitwick asked attentively. "Tea, Minerva?"

"No thank you." She replied, still looking pained. "It's Potter and Black. They're - they're friends."

All the teachers gasped at the news that their two most rambunctious students had joined forces.

"No!" Said Professor Dillon, the Herbology teacher. "I just had them today. They already caused more trouble in my class today than all my other classes combined. "Imagine what they'll be like together!"

"What happened?" Professor Kenton urged, shaking his head in grief.

She told them about their detention and how she had returned to find them banterring with each other. No one had any doubt that Potter and Black would in no time become bosom friends. It was a grave day indeed for all the teachers.

* * *

Please, indulge me once and for all before the 7th book comes out and leave me a review.


	6. Things Happen

Ok. So this next chapter's a transition one but please give me some feedback. I decided not to edit everything according to the 7th book because I put so much work into making them friends and I don't want to change now. Besides, I thought mine made more sense. but I am going to make Lily and Snape friends. i honestly have no idea what James could possibly be thinking to try and impress Lily by humiliating her "best friend." also, anyone who went to the midnight party, tell me how it went and describe in detail.

* * *

Peter and Remus were shocked when James came racing into the Gryffindor Common Room with Sirius Black right behind, both of them laughing uproariously.

"How was detention?" Remus asked, bemused.

"Great." James answered, panting heavily. Turning to Black, he said, "See? I told you I'm faster."

"Barely," Black replied. He too was out of breath. "You're not bad for someone that short." Sirius didn't seem quite so haughty and unapproachable now, and Remus wondered if he had been mistaken in judging him earlier.

"Hey." Remus said tentatively.

"Hey." Sirius answered, looking back a little hesitantly at the two boys he was as of yet unacquainted with. "Remus Lupin, right? And Peter Pettigrew?"

Remus nodded and offered a smile. Peter hurried to follow suit.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" James offered and they all agreed.

* * *

That night, Sirius laid awake on his bed and traced the burned letters marking his hand with his fingertips. Was he betraying his family by befriending them? James and Peter were from families of blood traitors and Remus was a half-blood. His mother had always said those kinds of people were good only to be sneered at, just as mudbloods were good only to be cursed. Yet, he liked them in the way he had never liked Avery and Mulciber.

And they liked him. This was new to Sirius. He liked being liked. James had promised to help him hex Snape, Remus had offered to let them copy his homework, and Peter had admired his skill in Exploding Snap. He had never gotten that from his family, and he did not think he ever would. Remembering the Howler, he realized they had given up on him long ago, and that Gryffindor was just the final straw. Funny the thought didn't sting as much now. And there was something else. He could not accept that muggle-borns were any lesser beings, not after Mary McDonald tried to comfort him that morning, and not after hearing Slughorn lavish praise on Lily Evans upon viewing her perfect potion. Though Sirius was unaware of it, he was already starting to break the tender ties he had with his family.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, everyone was surprised to see James and Sirius coming down together looking as though they'd been friends all their lives.

"What happened between you and Black?" Marlene McKinnon asked curiously.

"Detention." James replied with a grin as he stuffed a muffin into his mouth.

"But yesterday you two were so - "

"Changed our minds."

"But doesn't his family hate muggle-borns though?"

Sirius had heard those last words. "Hate them?" He repeated in mock horror. "No! We don't know what we'd do without them, really. We have our annual muggle hunt, our semi-annual muggle torture festivals, Attack of Muggleborn Day in July, and then we have Muggle Pie, Muggleborn Chowder, and a lot more I could list, but I'd probably bore you."

"I heard your aunt tried to pass a bill making muggle-hunting legal." A Second-Year student said tactlessly.

"Second cousin." Sirius replied as he buttered his toast. "There's too many muggles around so we thought we might as well help control the population."

It was difficult to tell if he was joking or not, but James interrupted, asking when they would start Snivellus-hunting.

"I'm going to curse him as soon as I see him." Sirius replied. "What do you want to do?"

"I was thinking we could hang him on a chandelier. You know, like Cornish Pixies. We could try Wingardium Leviosa and see if that would work."

The look Sirius gave him was one of admiration and pride. "Brilliant!" He cried, giving his friend a high five.

Lily Evans turned around angrily, facing them. "Don't you dare try that." She said, her green eyes flashing threateningly.

"How are you planning to stop us?" James asked with a smirk. "Going to tell a teacher?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Careful, Potter, or you might find something in your pumpkin juice one morning. That goes for you too, Black."

Sirius yawned. "Tell your friend Snivelly to watch his back. Come on, Potter. Got lots of work to do. Wouldn't want to get poisoned before we have a chance."

And with that, the two boys gathered Remus and Peter and strutted out to complete their mischief.

* * *

Funny and smart, James with the added benefit of being an excellent flyer and Sirius of having _very _promising good looks, the two boys quickly became the most popular students in their year. To James, this was nothing out of the ordinary; he was used to being worshipped by his parents and now this coveted position as a devotee was simply passed along to his fellow classmates. It was different with Sirius but he reveled in it no less. He had been bred with a sense of superiority and what followed after converting to Gryffindor only further inflated his ego. They quickly realized how "cool" they were and began strutting around the castle like they owned the place.

By the end of the month, James and Sirius had filled enough detentions to last till Christmas. An encounter with a teacher might go something like this:

"Potter, Black – that will be a detention next Saturday." Some unfortunate teacher on the receiving end of one of their pranks might say.

"Can't. Promised Professor McGonagall we'd be there."

"Fine. Sunday then." The teacher would say impatiently.

"I'm pretty sure that's occupied too. Professor Flitwick gets first dibs." James would say.

"No. That was last week. It's Kenton's turn, remember? He's been waiting for about a month." Sirius would remember.

"Oh yeah. Gets hard to remember sometimes, doesn't it?" James replies lazily.

"Well then when are you available?" The teacher would ask icily. They're were not use to molding detentions to match a student's schedule.

James would take out the notebook Remus had given him to keep track of this stuff and say, "Lets see, we have another one with you next Friday, and we meet again on Tues. Well, I'm afraid the soonest we're available will be right after winter break."

"Never mind." That teacher would snap. "I'll just make your Friday detention extra long then."

"Well." Sirius would say hesitantly. "We just managed to squeeze you in that day. Right after you happens to be Pringle again."

"Oh just forget it." And the teacher would stomp away.

But there was something very endearing about their carefree manner and cheeky remarks that made it impossible not to smile as soon as it was safe. And both boys were exceedingly bright - putting only the minimum amount of effort, they could still achieve the best grades in the class. James was a particular favorite with Professor McGonagall (though she pretended otherwise) and Sirius with Professor Flitwick. Slughorn had tried to gather the two into his Slug Club, but they were always so busy with detention that he eventually gave up and contented himself with fawning over Lily Evans.

There had been a dozen more incidents with Lily that transformed her distaste to dislike and her dislike to disgust. If their constant torment of her best friend was not enough to guarantee her antipathy, dumping a bucketful of slime on her and Marlene certainly did a clean job of it. One of the boys promptly found himself on the receiving end of a Jelly-Legs Jinx and the other threw up five times during dinner after gulping down a bit pumpkin juice. Marlene had forgiven them after that but Evans, remembering their treatment of her Slytherin friend, could not do the same and hated them more than ever. She happened to have exceptionally talented so the boys soon became wary of antagoizing her.

Lily was one of the few not swept up by their charm, but she was not the only one. Neither James nor Sirius realized exactly how malicious their pranks could sometimes be, especially when concerning Severus Snape, but Remus did. Whenever they tried to publicly humiliate him by making fun of his hair, or sticking him to a wall, or throwing Dungbombs at him to make him stink for a week, Remus wished he had the courage to tell them to quit. He knew perfectly well that Snape did not deserve this treatment and that his friends did not have the right to hex people for the fun of it. However, Remus also knew he was too much of a coward to tell them so. Sometimes, he wondered how he'd gotten into Gryffindor.

Yet, it could not be denied that Sirius and James were the best of friends. In Defense one day, Avery decided to make fun of Remus's robes.

"Maybe it's some sort of family heirloom. I bet it's been around at least two centuries. Maybe three." Laughing, he called over to Remus. "Hey Lupin, how many times have your robes been handed down in the family? Five or six generations at least, right?"

James and Sirius reacted instantly. Avery legs locked and he fell over like a rigid board. His nose too, began swelling like a balloon.

"How long's that nose been passed down, Avery?" James jeered.

"His great great grandfather's got the same one." Sirius replied with a bark-like laugh. "So at least four."

Professor Kenton put them in detention.

Sirius and James responded similarly when a Ravenclaw girl scoffed at Peter in Charms. Her ears became replaced by turnips. Quickly enough, students learned not to make fun of Remus and Peter.

* * *

A few weeks into the term, Bellatrix and her pack finally managed to catch Sirius and his three friends without the usual crowd of admirers preventing them from using Dark curses.

"Hello, Sirius." She said softly, a smile tugging at her dark red lips. "It's been a while."

Sirius looked at his friends in a way that signified deep trouble.

"You know," she continued. "People will start to think you've forgotten your family, after hanging around filthy blood-traitors and half-bloods."

"Don't call them that!" Sirius said angrily, drawing his wand.

She blasted it out of his hand with ease. Lestrange and Carrow did the same with James, Remus, and Peter.

"Oh dear." She said. "What will your mother say when she finds out? She doesn't know the kind of scum you're friends with yet. I've been trying think of the best way to tell her. She's not going to be happy, is she?" Bellatrix gave a laugh.

Sirius paled. "Another Howler will only disgrace the family more, Bellatrix. Do you really want that?" He said more bravely than he felt.

She didn't answer his question, but circled him carefully. "I like what you have on your hand." She said instead. "Snape's work, isn't it? He's good with curses, knows more than half the Seventh Years I'll bet. But then again, you know quite a few too, don't you, little cousin?" Turning to James, Remus, and Peter, she gave a nasty smile. "I suppose he didn't tell you that. Did you know your friend here happens to be very good at performing Dark spells?"

"I don't believe you!" James spat angrily.

"Guess you don't know him as well as you thought, Potter. But I know. I taught them to him myself. _Before I found out he'd turn into a blood traitor himself!_" A jet of red light erupted from her wand and Sirius found himself knocked to the ground.

Furious, James went and tried to tackle Bellatrix, but she shot an_ Impedimenta_ spell, leaving him down too.

"If you do anything to them, the teachers will find out and you'll get in trouble." Remus said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Let them go."

Bellatrix and her gang just laughed jubilantly. "I don't think you're in much of a position to make threats. You're cornered." She gave her shiny black her a toss, and her stormy gray eyes, the same shade as her cousin's, seemed to gleam. "This is too easy. Rodolphus, give them back their wands. Let's see what a couple First Years can do. If we're lucky, Sirius might even show them one of the curses I taught him."

Without giving them a chance to regain their footing, she made a slashing motion with her wand and a large gash appeared on Sirius's face, spurting blood onto his robes. James tried the Jelly-Legs Jinx and Remus tried _expelliarmus_ but Bellatrix blocked both with a flick of her wand and her friends laughed.

Lestrange casted a Stinging Hex at Remus, and Carrow hit Peter a Leg-Binding Curse.

Bellatrix, pointing her wand at James, said, "Look what I'm going to do to your friend, Sirius. _Crucio._"

But James had not played years of quidditch for nothing. His reflexes, as Professor Kenton had noted, were excellent, and he quickly dodged the spell.

Sirius was just recovering and managed to get up from his position on the floor. Enraged, he said the first spell that came to mind and flinched when Bellatrix gave a loud hiss. Angry burn marks appeared on her hands and she dropped her wand.

"Guess you shouldn't have taught me that one." Sirius said in a low voice.

Footsteps were sounding from behind, so Bellatrix and her friends hurried out. Remus undid the spell Peter had been bound in before the newcomer arrived. She was a prefect.

"What's been going on here? I though I heard a noise." The girl said with a frown.

"Nothing." Remus replied with a glance around.

"You look like you've been dueling." She was looking at Sirius's gash.

"I fell." Sirius mumbled.

After a moment, she said, "Very well. It's almost curfew. I suggest you go back to your dormitories."

On the way back, none of the boys said anything at first. Then, Sirius spoke up.

"Well?" He said, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Well what?" James asked, stopping.

"I can't believe I used that spell." He said, shaking his head.

"Well, I can't say I liked that one, but you were trying to help us. And compared to the stuff she was using, yours was practically friendly. Though I'd rather you didn't use it again."

"James, that was a Dark curse! _She _was the one who taught it to me! And you heard what she said!"

"Just because you know that stuff doesn't mean you'll use it. And it's not like you meant to use that just now either."

"Well how do you know it's not going to slip out again?"

"You're with us, Sirius! You'll be fine. It's not like you're going to turn into Snivellus or something!"

"So you guys don't hate me?" Sirius asked, looking around.

"Of course not!" They all said at once.

Sirius smiled wryly. "I wish I didn't know all that stuff." He said with a sigh.

"Do you know a lot of Dark Magic?" Peter asked stupidly. James and Remus glared at him and he seemed to shrink a little.

Sirius did not reply, but looked contemplative as they walked up to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

* * *

I think Sirius has had enough focus. More on the others from now on.

What'd you think of the last book by the way?


	7. Forbidden Forest

Ok. So here's the next chapter. I know this is a bit slow with a whole chapter devoted to the forest. I was also going to have them discover the kitchens but the chapter was longer than I expected. Maybe I'll edit later or something or sqeeze it on the next chapter. I want to quicken things up a little. The next chapter will be about Remus's transfiguration. Ideas anyone?

* * *

On Halloween, the four boys (meaning James and Sirius) decided that they needed another excursion. Nighttime wanderings were not enough to satisfy their love of adventure. They suggested the Forbidden Forest.

"_The_ _Forbidden Forest_? You're joking right?" Peter asked, incredulous.

"Why not? We've been at Hogwarts for almost two months. I'm surprised we haven't thought of it before now." James replied lazily.

Remus looked up from his Herbology essay, appearing apprehensive. "Peter's got a point, James. There's a reason it's called the _Forbidden_ Forest and not the 'Come In and Party Forest.'"

Sirius, who was lounging on a couch, entered the argument on James's side. "Well what better invitation to go in? 'Forbidden' gives it a nice touch, don't you think? Besides, it's Haloween. We should do something scary to celebrate."

"But – but there's supposed to be horrible creatures in there." Peter squeaked. "Werewolves (Remus stiffened) and vampires and killer rabbits. Wh- what if we never come out?"

"_Killer rabbits_?" James chortled. "You can't seriously get scared off by bunnies, can you Peter?"

Sirius laughed too. "If anything scarier than Snivelly's nose comes along, we'll just feed Remus to it. Who knows, he might even bore it to death with his magical plants and fungi."

Remus flushed but replied with a smile. "Hey – if I get eaten, who's gonna finish your essays?"

"Don't worry. We'll try to recover your body, Remus. So, are we going in or not?" James asked.

Remus and Peter half-heartedly complied with only a little more cajoling on the other side. They would return right before the big feast.

Though Peter though still rather uneasy, decided it was better not to question. It was good just to belong to this group of rebels; he didn't want to lose his place. If worst came to worst, his friends could pull him out. Of course, running as fast as possible wouldn't hurt either.

As soon as the last class ended on Halloween, the foursome gathered together to for their latest scheme. None of them noticed a certain slimeball lurking in the corner, eavesdropping, hoping to get them all expelled.

"Ready for the forest?" James asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"If I said I weren't would that change anything?" Remus inquired dryly.

"Ah, Remmy. Always here to squash the fun. And no, it would not make any difference because we would just drag you there instead. Who else can we feed to the little rabbits and werewolves?" Sirius answered with a cocky grin as they walked out the front doors and into the dimming sunset.

Remus did not smile, and said in a quiet, solemn voice. "There won't be any werewolves in there. It's not full moon."

James yawned. "Oh well. There are always vampires to look forward to. Don't worry, we'll find _something_ I'm sure."

At this, Remus finally gave a smile. Peter however, remained scared.

"Do you think anyone will notice that we're gone?" Peter asked with a shaky voice.

Sirius replied with the seriousness befitting his name. "I'm sure they'll go looking for our remains if we don't show up for the next few weeks. Imagine, a headline on the Daily Prophet: _Four First Years at Hogwarts Missing, Presumed Dead_. And then a year later, they find our rotting bones, gnawed on by giant spiders. And then they'll wonder, whyever did did they go into the forest?"

Peter was growing steadily paler as Sirius went on.

"Shut up, will ya, before Peter passes out?" James asked as they approached the desolate forest. Although it was still only twilight, the forest was as black and eerie as ever.

Even James and Sirius looked a little hesitant. However cool they thought they were, the boys were still only 11.

"Hagrid's still in his hut. No one else is around, as far as I can see. It's probably safe to go in." Said Sirius.

"All right." James replied. "We have a little more than an hour until the feast. Let's go." James's breath began to quicken as they made their way in through the forbidding trees.

Remus, the sensible one, then said, "If anything really dangerous comes along, just send sparks or hide. I read that a lot of creatures are even more dangerous when antagonized. Don't confront them unless you absolutely have to. Who knows what they could do?"

Peter, Sirius, and James all agreed and walked in silence for a couple minutes, until Sirius got bored. He was always easily restless and could not stay still for 10 minutes straight. Even in the Forbidden Forest.

"Maybe we should call something over. To start things up, you know. We have only an hour after all."

But he spoke a little too soon, and before the words were out, the four boys heard a distant thumping sound, getting closer and closer. They looked at each other for a split second, until Peter squeaked, "Run!"

The boys didn't need telling twice. They ran as fast as they could, and even lost the path that they'd come along. Despite all, they still didn't outrun whatever was following them. It was a centaur.

"What are you doing by yourselves in our forest?" A wild, arrogant-looking one asked. Peter was struck by how tall he was, and how it could easily crush him under its hooves with one stamp. He doubted that his wand would be of much use.

"W-w-we were-were just passing through." Peter squeaked.

"Bane, they're just foals from that school up there. Nothing dangerous." Another centaur spoke in a low, clear rumble. "You would do well to return to the castle. The forest is not safe in these times. Mars has been bright as of late."

"Oh." James replied with a gulp. "Well, if you could just point the way back..."

The centaurs obliged and nudged their heads towards the path to the school. And then with a goodbye and another allusion to the stars, they left.

"They didn't seem to like us, did they?" Remus said once they were alone again. "And what does it mean Mars is bright?"

"I dunno." James replied. "My dad says we haven't treated them like equals and that they're easy to offend. He said they center their lives around star signs or something."

"You should hear my mother talking about them. Thinks they're dangerous half-breeds and that we should've gotten rid of them long ago." Sirius said with a touch of bitterness.

"But what about that stuff it said about how the forest's not safe? What if something comes and attacks us?" Peter asked.

"If it was safe, why'd we even bother to come in? Come on, Peter, it's more exciting this way." Replied Sirius.

They walked a few more steps and this time heard another far-off roar. Peter was pretty sure this was not a little harmless creature.

"Let's walk faster." Remus said as he glanced around anxiously.

It was almost time for the feast when they reached the edge of the forest. Then, a tall, daunting figure came into view.

"Vampire!" Peter whimpered. The boys desperately looked around for an escape but it was too late. The creature had already seen them and was walking faster and faster.

But he was wrong. It was not a vampire, thought perhaps almost as intimidating. It was a very angry Professor McGonagall.

"Well?" She asked in a tight, controlled voice. "Explain yourselves. 4 first-year Gryffindors sneaking off into the Forbidden Forest. I have never been more ashamed of my own house."

James then spoke up. "Er. This is all my fault actually. It was my idea to come in here. I - "

"No it wasn't!" Sirius interrupted. "I was the one who brought up the forest! He's just trying to get more detentions - "

Remus was not going to have any more of this. "Professor, I should have talked them out of it. It's-"

To everyone's surprise, Peter joined in. "Actually, they came because of me. My cat ran in here and I was afraid something bad would happen to her, so I asked my friends for help. We meant to stay on the edges but we couldn't find her and we got lost." He spoke with just the right amount of penitence mixed with anxiety for a lost pet.

McGonagall's looked much more sympathetic. "Yes, I understand you were worried. However, you should have told Hagrid. It was extremely foolish of a couple of first-years come in here. If Mr. Snape did not inform me of your escapade, who knows what might have happened?"

"Snape?" James asked in disgust.

"Yes, and it was a good thing too. Now, why don't you inform Hagrid about your cat, Mr. Pettigrew?"

Peter hesitated as if though he were debating over his nonexistant cat. "I'll ask him at the feast." He decided.

As soon as McGonagall left, everyone hurried to congratulate Peter.

"Brilliant!" James said as he gave him a high five.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Peter!" Sirius told him. "Where'd you learn to lie like that?"

"Thanks." Said Remus. "That was great!"

Peter grinned. He'd made them proud. "I used to lie to my mum for more pocket money." He said.

"We'll get you a cat as soon as we can." Sirius decided.

"But I don't like cats!"

"Well you need to have one now." Replied James. "Don't worry, we'll have it covered. What do we do about Snivellus though? We need a plan to get him back."

And so, the fours boys went on to plan their next big prank as they wolfed down the delectable Halloween feast.

* * *

Three days later, a meowing kitting was delivered into their dorm via owl. The owl had almost gobbled its package up so they were all relieved to find Peter's new pet safe and well. Peter was for some strange reason afraid of cats but the rest of them grew very fond of the creature, especially James, who later named her Furball. She quickly developed an affinity for destroying everything within a 10-foot radius as well as chasing McGonagall when in her animagus form. Admittedly, a bit of training was involved. In no time at all, McGonagall regretted inquiring about the cat while in the forest. Furball's personality greatly resembled that of her most mischievous students: troublesome, clever, and more than a little arrogant.

* * *

So what's your opinion? As always, please review.


	8. Questions

"What did you guys do that for?" Remus asked softly. James and Sirius decided it would be very amusing to test the Hair-Loss Jinx on a Hufflepuff student after Herbology. Remus could not help but feel that was uncalled for.

James did not share his disapproval. "He was blocking my way." He replied blithely.

"Couldn't you have asked Hucklebee to move then?"

"This way's much more fun." Sirius said. "Why don't you ever try it with us? Even Peter does sometimes."

"I'll pass." Remus said with a sigh.

"I like that spell a lot." Sirius continued. "We should use it more often."

James agreed. "You know, we haven't done this on Snivellus yet."

Sirius thought for a moment. "You're right. This'll be good for him. Maybe he'll even want to keep it permanent. No one will notice if he doesn't wash his hair!"

They laughed, but Remus stayed silent.

"What's the matter?" Asked James. "Don't you think that'd be funny?"

"Oh yeah." Remus replied falsely. "Listen, I have to visit my mother again." He said, glad to change the subject. "She has Floppenstein's Disease so we don't know when she'll be better. I'll be back on Wednesday so I'll see you then." Technically, he was only a werewolf for a night, but he'd always have to miss class the next day, not only because he was so worn out, but because Madam Promfrey had to heal the bites he inflicted on himself.

"Alright," Replied Sirius. "You can thank us for the notes later."

Remus smiled. "It's good for you. You guys should do it more often."

"Just read the book." Said Sirius a little arrogantly. "It's all in there anyway."

"_Goodbye." _Remus said as he left.

* * *

"Why doesn't Remus ever join in when we hex people?" James asked that night as he and Sirius played chess in the Common Room. "He doesn't think what we do is bad, does he?"

Sirius thought for a moment. "Nah." He replied. "It's a laugh - he knows it. Everyone does."

"But how come he never laughs when we do that stuff?"

"Hmm, good point." Trying to appease his conscience, Sirius turned to Peter for a third opinion._"You _thought that hex was funny, didn't you?_"_

Peter hurried to agree. "Of course! Everyone was laughing. Besides, Hucklebee was in your way!"

After a moment, James spoke up again. "Lily Evans didn't think it was funny either though. Did you see that look she gave us?"

"Well, it's _Evans_. What do you expect? She's friends with Snivellus!" Sirius argued.

"That's true." James admitted. And Evans had always given them that look.

"You're right. Remus was probably just too worried about his mum to laugh." James decided.

"Yeah! If he thought it was wrong, he'd tell us."

That promptly ended the discussion. James and Sirius could not see that what they were doing was _bullying _and Remus could not bring himself to tell them so. Peter too, had forgotten. In the beginning people had made fun of Peter for his lack of talent and Remus for his shabby robes. Sirius and James quickly came to their friends' defense and made it clear no one was to do anything or say anything of the sort again. Since then no one dared to say anything against Remus or Peter, or at least not when their friends were within earshot. Now, Sirius and James were the bullies and they thought it was _funny_.

* * *

Meanwhile, the moon was beginning to rise and Remus was safely hidden away. Madam Promfrey had waited for him at the gate as usual.

"Ready?" She had asked concernedly.

Was anyone ever ready for something like this? Remus thought to himself. Nevertheless, he contented himself with a nod. She prodded the knot and the tree abruptly froze. He entered the Shrieking Shack, the place he'd known so well, the place that would play host to so many more transformations to come. He wondered dully what the Hogsmeade villagers would make of tonight's disturbances. Dumbledore had lately been spreading the rumor of how the place was haunted by ghosts.

Remus didn't have to wait long for the agony of another transformation. He dimly saw his hands change to paws and fur grow all over them. The pain was driving him mad. He gave a long, angry howl as a new creature started tearing the shack apart. He was now a werewolf.

* * *

Christmas was quickly approaching and the atmosphere seemed so much lighter. The teachers were giving less homework which was quite refreshing and they had found 5 more secret passageways within the past month. Then, Sirius got another letter which put a damper on their moods.

_Sirius-_

_You are to come home for Christmas. Don't flatter yourself, we do not miss your company in the least, but most unfortunately, your aunt is under the impression that you will become a full-fledged blood-traitor if we leave you at that school any longer. She cannot stop bragging about her lovely daughters in comparison to my worthless son and I mean to put an end to it. You are to behave yourself when you return, and you will tell to her that your cousin Narcissa is lying when she said you are "friends" with that Potter brat and those other pieces of scum in your House._

The letter was unsigned, as though she were too disgusted to call herself his mother.

When McGonagall came around with her list of students staying at Hogwarts, Sirius tried to sign up anyway.

"I'm sorry Mr. Black. Your mother specifically wrote for you to go home for the holidays. I'm afraid we cannot go against her wishes." Softening, she said, "It's only two weeks."

Sirius gave her a look of disbelief. "Bellatrix will be there."

McGonagall opened her mouth and hesitated. "Try to behave yourself." She said instead.

When she left, his friends attempted to cheer him up.

"Well, at least you won't be alone in the Common Room come Christmas." Remus told him, trying to find a silver lining. They were all returning to their families and James had been about to invite Sirius over, but he didn't need to know that.

"Oh yeah, I get to be stuck in Grimmauld Place with my family and Kreacher and a bunch of house-elves' heads stuck on the walls. Sounds loads better." Sirius scowled. "Maybe I'll just miss the train or something."

"I think they check." James said with a frown. "But if you came with me and no one notices..."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You think his parents won't notice when Sirius doesn't show up to meet them at the station?"

"At least it's only two weeks." Peter piped up.

"Yeah, two really horrible weeks." Sirius grumbled.

Sirius really was not made for bad moods and James did his best to ensure that his friend wouldn't be reminded of the holidays. Feeling guilty his parents sent packages of sweets every day by their family owl while Sirius got nothing, he wrote them to stop. He doubled their pranks, cursed Snape more than ever, and hexed anyone who dared say the word "Christmas" or even worse, "going home."

Sirius noticed. He may have been miserable, but he wasn't stupid and he wasn't blind. "I don't need you to go around pitying me 'cause my family hates me, James!" He burst out one day.

James was taken aback. "I'm just trying to help!"

"Well don't! And you can tell your parents to go on sending those sweets and whatever else they want to send. I get it! They love you to pieces, you don't have to protect me!" With that, Sirius walked out.

Outraged, James turned to Remus and Peter and asked "What was I supposed to do?"

"Give him some time." Remus said with a sigh. "I mean, your life is pretty perfect. Can you blame him if he's jealous?"

"How am I supposed to make my family hate me?" There was it again, James had everything, James was spoiled. James did not like it.

"He just doesn't want you to feeling sorry for him." Peter said quietly. James and Remus were poth surprised by his perceptiveness. "His mum doesn't know he's friends with us yet and she's going to hate him even more when she finds out. And he feels guilty for making them hate him and he feels guilty for feeling guilty about that cause he doesn't want to lose his friends."

James and Remus stared.

"How do you know all that, Peter?" James asked, looking at Remus in wonder.

Peter turned red and muttered something indistinguishable.

At breakfast the next day, Sirius tried to apologize.

"About last night -" He began, but James cut him off.

"Forget it, ok? Don't worry about."

"No. I shouldn't have - "

"It's alright. Just don't blow up at me if I invite you over to my house for the summer, ok?" James said with a grin.

Sirius grinned back. "I'll be there." He replied. Changing the subject, he said, "I was in the library last night and I found this great book of jinxes. There's this one where you get to tie up someone's tongue. Want to try it on Snivelly?"

And just like that, they were back to normal.

* * *


	9. Christmas

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all playing Exploding Snap in one of their very few tame moments when Andromeda Black swung by on her prefect rounds on the Hogwarts Express. James looked up at her in surprise.

"Oi!" He called, reaching for his wand.

"It's ok, James." Sirius said. "She's the nice one."

James took another look at her. "Oh." He said. "She's a prefect?" He asked in disgust.

Sirius cousin grimaced. "Yeah, I know."

Andromeda surveyed her cousin's friends for a moment, not entirely approving. Her eyes lingering for a moment on the shabbiest of the four (probably a half-blood) with a slight frown. She may have been one of the more sympathetic members of the Black clan, but her family and her House had left an impression on her nonetheless. On her approved list, purebloods were preferred and half-bloods only if better people were unavailable. Mudbloods of course, did not need to be mentioned.

Turning back to cousin's best friend she said, "Potter, isn't it? You and Sirius have quite a reputation among the prefects."

The two boys beamed and she rolled her eyes.

"Anyways," she continued. "Besides trying to keep the two of you from blowing anything up, I'm here to remind Sirius not to do anything stupid."

Sirius opened his mouth but she didn't give him a chance to speak. "Your mother's not going to like seeing you with - " She stopped.

"My friends?" Sirius finished, raising his eyebrows.

"Just stay with me when you get off the train, all right?" She asked with a sigh. "Why make things difficult for yourself?"

"Nah. I'd rather stay with James and Remus and Peter. I don't really like being too close to prefects. I don't want anything to rub off."

"Tell them goodbye on the train! You know how angry your mother's going to get!"

Sirius shrugged. "I'll worry about that later. I don't really care." Well, that was not exactly the truth.

"Well you should!" Andromeda replied darkly. "Cause Bella's got a lot of juicy things to tell and I can't talk her out of it."

"Sirius." Said James slowly. "Maybe it _is _better if they don't see you with us. I don't want your mum to get mad at you 'cause of us."

"They're going to be mad at me anyways!" Sirius replied indignantly. "If I don't care, then why should you?"

"Because you're my best mate and I don't want you in trouble."

"I agree with James." Remus said quietly. "I don't want them to be upset with you because of us." Peter hastily concurred.

"How many times have we gotten into trouble in school?" Sirius argued, outraged at their betrayal.

"But this is different, Sirius. They're already upset. You don't want to make it worse." Andromeda said, sensing her victory.

Overruled and unable to think of a better argument, Sirius scowled. "Fine. I'll wait for you here."

* * *

As soon as Andromeda came around to collect her sullen cousin, James rushed out of the train to meet his parents.

"I can't believe you're finally here, James. You've definitely grown in these three months. We've missed you so much!" Mrs. Potter fussed as she swept him up with a great big hug.

"I hope you know we're not letting you return to that school." Mr. Potter said as James gave him a hug too.

"We hear you've been spending a lot of time in detention, dear." Mrs. Potter said. "Do you want us to ask Professor McGonagall to go easy on you?"

"No, Mum!" James replied, alarmed. "I'm competing with Sirius for the most in one year!"

His parents laughed. "All right. You do that then." His father replied, not at all displeased with the idea that his son intended to be Hogwart's troublemaker-in-chief.

"Sirius seems all right?" His mother asked. "You've written us a lot about him in your letters but his background is a little..." She shared a look with her husband.

"He's the best friend ever. He's nothing like his family." James assured and his parents soon bombarded him with questions regarding Hogwarts. He introduced them to Peter and Remus whom they liked very much and left King's Cross feeling very happy.

Sirius on the other hand, was given a a less welcoming reception. He did not see his parents but his aunt and uncle came over to greet Andromeda. Bellatrix and Narcissa were already with them.

"Andromeda!" Aunt Druella said with a smile as she came over to hug her daughter. Glancing down at Sirius, she gave a sniff of displeasure. "Your parents didn't think it would be necessary to come. We're to take you home. I supposed they were too ashamed."

Andromeda gave him an apologetic look.

"We're hearing good things from Professor Slughorn." Uncle Cygnus said proudly. "He thinks there's a good chance you'll be Head Girl next year. Although I think you should let your sisters get away with things if you can. We're family after all and it's not as though those mudbloods are good for much else."

"I can't give special treatment, Father. As a Prefect, I have to be fair." She replied, giving Sirius a kick to prevent him from opening his mouth to say something stupid.

Uncle Cygnus gave Sirius a look that one might give to a bit of mold and muttered something along the lines of "I don't know what my brother was thinking." Glancing around, Sirius saw only one person whose face did not hold an expression of joyous delight and that was Lily Evan's upon hearing that her sister wasn't here to greet her. Her parents seemed to cheer her up though and that left Sirius alone feeling thoroughly miserable. He had a feeling it would be a very long holiday.

* * *

Three days before Christmas, James and his family took a trip to Diagon Ally to do the last of their Christmas shopping. After strongly hinting for a magic carpet (which was technically against Ministry regulations), James ran off to buy presents. He saw a boy with black hair leaning on the back legs of his chair in an all too familiar position at Fortescue's ice cream shop and grinned.

"Sirius!" He shouted, and leapt over to tackle his friend, who fought back with vigor. After knocking down a table and three chairs, the owner came over and politely kicked them out.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked as they left, both trying unsuccessfully to hold back laughter.

"We're Christmas shopping!" James replied happily. "What do you think Mum'd like? I was thinking maybe some kumquat trees but - " He stopped. Sirius was sporting a radiantly purple eye. "How'd you get that thing?" He asked, pointing at it in wonder.

"What? Is it that bad?" Sirius asked, turning to look at his reflection on one of the shop windows. "Blimey! I look like a panda!"

"Well, technically, pandas have two black eyes so you only look like half a panda." James corrected lightly.

"You want me to make you look like two pandas, four eyes?" Sirius inspected his eye some more before shrugging and turning back.

"I'll pass. I can get my mum to fix it for you. She's good at healing injuries. What happened anyway?"

Sirius made a face. "Tried to scare my brother this morning by jumping out from behind his door."

James grinned. "And he punched you for that?"

"No." Sirius scowled. "He started screaming like mad. Honestly, you'd think I'd done something terrible. He does this just to get me in trouble. So Mother comes along out of nowhere and before I know it, she punches me in the face. Regulus goes and starts laughing of course. I should have punched him. Why didn't I punch him?" Sirius shook his head, making a mental note to hit his brother the next chance he got.

James stared him, horrified. "You mum punched you in the eye?"

"I know! Can you believe her?" Passing an advertisement for chocolate fountains, he said, "Hey look - I always wanted one of those."

His friend wasn't so easily distracted. "Does she do that often?" James asked, concerned.

"No, she's got a wand. Where do you think Bella learned half her stuff?" He glanced at the price tag of the fountain. "And it's on sale! Only 10 galleons!"

James stared at him. How could he act like it was nothing? "Where's your mum right now?"

Sirius fished out a pocketful of coins as he said this and handed it to the cashier. "Knockturn Alley with my brother. I escaped a while ago. Actually, she didn't want me to come but my father and Kreacher didn't want me in the house. I can't believe I got kicked out by a house elf!"

"You want to stay with us for Christmas? You can come any time." Sirius's break sounded worse than James had imagined.

Sirius looked at him dubiously. "Your parents won't mind?"

"No. Will your family let you though?"

Sirius's face held the same smile he had on whenever they succeeded on a particularly innovative prank. "Of course not, but when's that ever stopped me before?"

"You know Sirius, I really like how you think." James said, giving his friend an approving look.

* * *

James and Sirius found themselves looking up at #12 Grimmauld Place. James was struck by how cold and unwelcoming the house seemed, even from the outside. The door knocker was shaped like a twisted serpent and James knew at once he would not like the place.

"My school trunk's in my room. Top floor, second window to the right." Sirius said, pointing to his bedroom. "My wand's locked in my mother's study desk on the second floor. She took it after I blew up the living room. Long story. Tell you later. The house is Unplottable, so you can use magic if you want and the Ministry won't know. Be careful not to wake up the portraits because they'll start screaming, Kreacher's probably in the kitchen but he can be really nasty so don't let him hear you, and I think Father's gone out for now. Oh - and don't touch anything."

James nodded. "Where's the Floo Powder?"

"On top of the fireplace in the living room." Sirius replied. "Let's go."

The two boys snuck into the house using ever bit of the skill they had accumulated at Hogwarts. James found the inside even worse than he'd imagined. The house was grand, certainly, and expensive looking. The Black crest with its motto _Toujours Pur was _engraved on everything from the furniture to the wall and James made a face. He viewed the serpent-shaped chandeliers with distaste, and saw a number of suspicious looking objects that settled whatever remaining doubt there was about the character of the family living within. James was determined more than ever to get his friend out of this place.

As they crept up the stairs, James gave a gasp at the sight of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall.

"House-elves." Sirius whispered in explanation. Pointing at the room across the hall, he said, "My wand's in there."

James followed him into the study and pointed his wand at the drawer of the desk. "Alohamora!" He whispered and the drawer opened.

"Thanks." Sirius said and dug his hand in to retrieve his wand. As soon as he touched it, an alarm went off. The portraits awoke and began shouting in confusion.

"Run!" James yelled when a house-elf with a snout-like nose Apparated in front of them with a pop.

He reached the top landing first, with Sirius just a few steps behind. Bursting into the room, he slammed the door and they began throwing Sirius's stuff into his school trunk.

"Give him an order!" James said frantically.

"I can't! My mother told him not to listen to me!" Sirius replied, closing his trunk with a bang.

The door opened again and Kreacher appeared in the doorway, cackling. "Master Sirius is in big trouble! My mistress won't be happy! And he is with the blood-traitor too!"

"Petrificus Totalis!" Sirius shouted, pointing his wand at Kreacher. The house-elf only laughed gleefully.

James looked around, panicked, and his eyes landed on a broomstick. Sirius understood and nodded, shoving his trunk to the window. Mounting the broom, James zoomed over and waited for his friend to get on. Using a handy spell they learned through one of their pranks, he lightened up the trunk and flew out.

"No!" Kreacher shouted and hurtled over to grab Sirius's foot. The two boys gave a desperate tug and escaped his grasp, leaving the house-elf with only a shoe.

"Bye!" Sirius shouted back with a laugh. "Wish them Merry Christmas for me!"

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Potter were waiting for their son at the Leaky Cauldron. They were not entirely surprised to see their son run over, looking as though he had just done a bit more mischief. James's friend emerged right next to him, looking slightly apprehensive. They noticed that he had a black eye and was missing a shoe.

"Mum! Dad! Guess what? Sirius's staying with us for Christmas!" James said, out of breath.

"You must be Sirius." Mr. Potter said as he shook his hand. "We've heard so much about you."

Mrs. Potter gave a warm smile. "We'd be pleased to have you over. When do you want us to pick you up?"

"Why not now?" James suggested innocently.

"But what about all his things?" She asked kindly.

Sirius decided to put his most charming smile to use. "Right there." He said, pointing at a table to the right. A broomstick, a chocolate fountain, and a school trunk were also piled on top.

James's parents knew better than to inquire as to how they get there. "Are the rest off your family here?" Mr. Potter asked instead. "Perhaps we should speak to them first before we steal you away?"

Sirius's smile worked its magic a second time. "James and I just went and talked to them. They said it was fine. Actually, they might have already gone home by now."

Mr. and Mrs. Potter had a few doubts regarding the story, but how could they resist such a smile? And James had been going on about his friend ever since he'd come home and they simply could not say no to something that would obviously give him so much pleasure. Besides, from what James had mentioned, Sirius's parents were not overly kind to him.

"Well, all right. I suppose we'll leave them a message once we're home." Mrs. Potter gave in.

"Do you want to stay till Christmas, or until school starts?" Asked Mr. Potter.

"Until school starts." James answered immediately.

"That will be fine, Sirius. I hope you enjoy your stay." Sighing, Mrs. Potter said, "Now let me mend your eye for you, won't you dear? _Boys."_

With a flick of her wand, the purple bruise disappeared. She quickly conjured one up with another shoe too with a wave of her wand.

"Thanks." Sirius said, beaming.


	10. Stupidity

As they drove up the winding road to Godric's Gryffindor's old birthplace, James pointed out various landmarks to his friend. Sirius liked more and more of what he saw.

At last, they reached the Potter's house. There was the head of a golden lion on the entrance gate, looking very pleased with himself. Then, James and Sirius stopped grinning. Also at the gate was a woman with an unpleasantly familiar house-elf. Kreacher still had a shoe in his hand. James could only assume the woman was Sirius's mother.

Mrs. Black would have been exceedingly beautiful if she did not have a glare on her face that would have given a basilisk a run for its money. She had that glare on right now and James turned to his parents in terror.

"You know James, it would have been a lot easier if you'd explained beforehand." Mr. Potter said, having pieced out the puzzle. He and his wife both got out of the car to greet the unwanted visitor.

"Walburga," He said forcing a smile. "Won't you come in?" Mr. Potter was careful not to meet her stony gray eyes.

Mrs. Black's lips curled. "No. I am here to collect my son. You have taken him without my permission." The already frigid temperatures dropped another 10 degrees at the sound of her voice. James had a feeling it was either this or the screaming he had heard in the Howler on the first day of school.

"We were going to contact you as soon as we returned home. We thought - " Mr. Potter began diplomatically, but found himself interrupted.

"Do not contact us." Mrs. Black said, her eyes flashing furiously. "We do not associate with blood-traitors. Sirius, get out! We're leaving!" She barked at the car.

"Walburga," Mrs. Potter began in a voice James did not recognize. "You might want to keep in mind that the Ministry is starting to crack down on certain Dark objects in light of recent events. I doubt your family would like to be caused any embarrassment."

Mrs. Black narrowed her eyes. "My family can trace our magical blood back seven centuries. The Ministry is perfectly aware of what we have done for them. My grandfather received an Order of Merlin, First Class. We will not be searched." She spat out.

"Open any wizarding genealogy book and you'll find the Potters and a long list of our contributions. They involve more than _special services to the Ministry." _Mr. Potter said sharply, alluding to the hefty bribe involved in her grandfather's award.

"You may remember that my husband and I used to work at the Ministry of Magic." Mrs. Potter said softly. "And I assure you, Sirius will be perfectly safe with us."

Mrs. Black's face was livid and looked ready to curse them. Casting her eyes on Sirius, she gave a sneer. "Fine. Take him. I'm sure Christmas will be much more enjoyable without my son." And with that, she took hold of Kreacher and Apparated.

James turned to his friend in eagerness, excited that Sirius would be allowed to stay, but the look on his friend's face in the window's reflection silenced him at once. A little late, James realized that it must have been nasty to hear his mother say they were happier without him. No matter how often Sirius claimed he could not stand his family, James knew his friend only "hated" them to protect himself from further hurt. It was uncanny how Mrs. Black could take the joy out of an occassion with just a few words.

"You alright, Sirius?" Mrs. Potter asked when she and her husband got back in the car.

"Yeah." Sirius replied, looking out at the place his mother had been.

Still, Sirius too amazed to feel anything else when they entered the gate. The lion gave a loud rumble and a spectacular view of the Potter's home appeared before them. It was on the same large scale and held the same grandeur as Grimmauld Place but similarities between the two houses ended there. The five-story mansion was cheery-looking and welcoming, with stately oak trees guiding visitors down the driveway. Though at least a few centures old, the place looked to be newly renovated, incorporating the best combination of past splendor and modern convenience.

"Nice house!" Sirius said, looking at the sight before him in wonder.

"Thanks." James replied. "It's been in the family for a while. There's a quidditch field in the back. Want to go play?"

"Why don't you let him rest for a bit, dear." Mrs. Potter suggested gently. "Are you tired, Sirius?"

"No, I'm fine." Sirius replied, returning to his old self. "Besides, I brought my broom over. Let's go!"

* * *

Even Sirius, who was used to having loads of money, was impressed by the Potter's home. James actually had his own floor and Sirius quickly noticed how the walls were covered with quidditch posters of England's national quidditch team. They had a house-elf named Lolli who was as different from Kreacher as could be imagined and she set up a room for Sirius next to his friend's. Mr. and Mrs. Potter treated him like a second son and much better than his own parents. This was a holiday he could enjoy.

The days cruised by and Christmas soon approached. A lavishly adorned tree decorated the living room. On Christmas morning, James burst into his friend's room and threw himself onto his friend's bed.

"Aaaahhh!" Sirius yelled, waking up in alarm. "Gerroff me! It's six in the morning!"

"It's Christmas! Let's go open presents!"

"You go! I'm going back to sleep!" Sirius attemted to pull the blanket over his head but James wouldn't let him.

James might have been small, but he wasn't weak. His friend quickly found himself forced downstairs.

There was an enormous pile of gifts awaiting James and a considerably large haul for Sirius too. His hosts had no intention of letting Sirius feel left out.

"Oh wow! Look at that! A new broomstick servicing kit!" James said happily as he opened up his first of many presents.

"Filibuster's best fireworks!" Sirius exclaimed. "Imagine what we can do!"

"A pack of chocolate frogs from Remus!" James mumbled as he shoved one into his mouth.

"Oh yeah - I got them too. And a bottle of invisible ink from Peter." Sirius said as he ripped open yet another box.

By the time Mr. and Mrs. Potter came down, there was a mountain of Christmas wrappings on the floor and many more unopened packages to go.

"Guess what? My Uncle Alphard sent me a two-way mirror!" Sirius said excitedly. "Now we can talk to each other when they put us in separate detentions!"

James's eyes shone bright with mischief. "You mean we can arrange pranks in detention now? Yes! This is great!"

The presents got better and better. Not only did James get the magic carpet he'd wanted (to which his parents had had to pull many strings in the Ministry for), but he also got gift even more spectacular.

"Dad – is that – is that really a - "

Mr. Potter smiled. "An invisibility cloak, yes. I thought it might come in handy for you at Hogwarts. It's an old family heirloom so mind you take good care of it."

James put it on at once and rushed to give his father a hug. Sirius too, was dazed. And then he grinned. "This means we might actually spend time planning pranks instead of in detention paying for them. Oi! Where are you?"

Right on cue, James jumped on his friend and wrestled him down. Though James was a head shorter, Sirius had no chance fighting something he couldn't see. Laughing heartily, Sirius gave up.

"I'm going to sneak the magic carpet to school. They said no broomsticks but this shouldn't count. But I'd rather that they didn't know, all the same. But can you believe our luck in getting an invisibility cloak? It's absolutely perfect. What should we do first you reckon?" James asked his friend. Together, the two continued with their plans to make trouble.

* * *

"Boys," Mrs. Potter said. "Don't forget we'll be having our Christmas party tonight. The guests will be arriving at 5:00. And James, dear, do you think you could tone down the pranks a little this year? Mrs. Elderprin just lost her husband so we felt we just had to invite her. She doesn't understand that you just want to have fun."

Mrs. Potter had interpreted the giant multiplying water balloons James had set on them the last time she had been there as a _boys will be boys _kind of thing, a harmless joke that could easily be rectified by the wave of a wand, but Mrs. Elderprin, being unreasonable of course, was absolutely convinced that James needed to learn to behave. The idea that anyone could think her little James anything less that perfect was a painful thought for Mrs. Potter, and Mrs. Elderprin had subsequently been left off her Christmas invite list.

"So no pranks at all this year?" James asked, his face falling slightly.

But his mother could not stand seeing him disappointed, even if it was only a little. "Well, just nothing too loud."

* * *

"How about a niffler?" Sirius suggested. "I let one loose at a family dinner when I was seven. Worked pretty well."

James felt excited for a moment before looking put out again. "Nah, that would still get Mrs. Elderprin upset and Mum doesn't want that."

Sirius thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. And it'll mess up your house too."

"Cornish pixies are out too, obviously." James said, stuffing a chocolate frog inside his mouth. "And fireworks."

The two boys threw out more ideas, all of which were quickly discarded. It was amazing how considerate they could be when they felt like it.

Rumaging through their Christmas presents, they instantly came up with the same idea.

"I thought of it first!" They both said at once after taking a look at the shimmery Invisibility Cloak. And so, it was decided that they would go under the cloak and perform various charms on the guests.

* * *

They recognized a few students who came with their families to the Potter's Christmas party. There was Frank Longbottom and Alice Prewitt, fellow Gryffindors in their Sixth Year of Hogwarts, Dorcas Meadows, a Seventh Year Ravenclaw and Anthony Bones from Hufflepuff. Marlene McKinnon came too was was the only one near James and Sirius's age, so they decided to include her - not that she would have lacked entertainment if they had left her alone.

"You know James," Marlene said once her parents left to join the adults in the next room, "I still can't believe how big your house is."

"Me too, and I've been here for a week." Said Sirius.

"Your parents aren't here, are they Sirius?" Marlene asked, confused. She thought Mr. and Mrs. Potter only invited people they _liked_.

"Of course not! Are you crazy?" Sirius replied. "I'm staying with the Potters till the end of break."

"So what's your prank going to be this year?" Marlene asked, turning to James. "You mentioned fireworks when we left."

"Yeah, but Mum doesn't want anything loud 'cause Mrs. Elderprin's here."

"You're not telling me you're skipping the prank this year!" She said, shocked.

"We'll probably think of something, won't we James?" Sirius answered with a grin.

* * *

Use your imagination to find out what happened with their prank. This chapter's long enough. And same with why the Potters drove over to Diagon Alley. Maybe James wanted to see England's pretty scenery, maybe they took a trip to Muggle London, who knows?


	11. Blah, for lack of a better title

How's school going for everyone? I hope you're all having lots of fun with all the homework and big projects and tests because I know I am. So this is the second to last chapter. If this seems pretty pointless to you, well then that makes two of us. I only wrote this because at the beginning, it was suppose to be each of the Marauder's pov. It sort of faded out later but whatever, this is suppose to be Peter's. And I know it's almost as though in fractures but I'll try to fix it when I've got time.

* * *

The four Marauders returned to Hogwarts in good spirits with the ending of Christmas vacation. They quickly returned to making trouble and enjoyed it very much. Before long however, trouble - real trouble - found them, in the shape of Bellatrix Black.

"Sirius, look." James said to his best friend while sitting in the hospital wing and munching on a mound of chocolate. "You're my best mate and all but I've got just one little request to make. The next time you come up with some brilliant scheme to get us killed, leave me out. Please. Or at the very least, tell Peter and Remus where we are so there might be _some_ chance of our bodies being recovered."

"Sorry mate. But she started it!" Sirius protested vigorously.

"Honestly, Sirius. You and James almost get yourselves killed and you're going on about who _started _it?"

"Well she did. Besides, she didn't exactly kill us." Sirius stated huffily.

"I give up." Remus said, shaking his head. Sense was simply impossible to impress upon Sirius. Even if it knocked him on the head, as Bellatrix's spell had done. Remus grabbed another chunk of chocolate. It was addicting.

"Hey, there's a reason I'm not in Ravenclaw. What do you say we get back at my stupid cousin as soon as we get outa here?" Sirius continued, not in the least bit fazed. Already, there was that glint that always proceeded an adventure in his eyes.

"NO!" James, Peter, and Remus all shouted at once. Madam Promfrey came to examine the nature of the noise.

"My patients need rest. If you cannot stay quiet I must ask you to leave." She said, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Sorry. We'll be quiet now." Peter replied meekly. As soon as Madam Promrey left, the other three Marauders continued.

"You've got to be crazy. Even _James _isn't stupid enough to attempt that." Remus said.

"Hey!" James said in reply to Remus's statement. He threw a chunk of chocolate at his friend's head. "But seriously, don't do it mate. Do you really want another trip to the hospital wing?"

Peter nodded in concurrence. He really didn't want his friend to get hurt, knowing it would do no good for anyone. "Don't try it Sirius. She knows way more spells than all of us combined."

Sirius scowled, looking disgruntled. "Ok, ok. If you don't want to pay her back, then fine. We'll just let her push us around."

James protested, "We aren't gonna let her push us around! We just don't want any of you injured again. Besides, trying to fight a 6th year is pretty stupid, don't you think? More harm's going to come to us than her which is exactly what she wants!"

"Well can we at least prank her some time? I hope we can still do _that_." Sirius was clearly not appeased just yet.

"Of course we can. We're still Marauders after all." James replied, almost indignant. And with that, the conversation veered back on track to how they could best prank Bellatrix Black. By the time they were done, she was not a girl whom one might envy.

* * *

The teachers had become increasingly wiser on the art of dealing with James Potter and Sirius Black. For example, it was soon customary to have both students screened before entering a classroom. These security measures would have made the ones imposed by the Ministry of Magic look like a mere joke. The first time, they caught several weeks' worth of their pranks of mass destruction, anywhere from the classic dungbombs to the newly invented Filibuster fireworks. But those two boys were like the a virus – they were able to so easily adapt, and form a new strain of attack even more powerful than the first within days, even hours, surpassing the skill of even the most experienced teachers. And despite these precautions – the best money could buy at the time – James and Sirius still managed to seep through; it was almost like trying to catch water in a sieve. (Very small amounts, sure, but better than nothing. Then again, for the work that they did, you could possibly argue that it simply wasn't worth it. But it was the satisfaction of a victory against them that was worth almost more than catching the prank itself.)

Next, they tried separating the four Gryffindor boys. They kept Sirius and James on opposite corners, next to the quietest students of the class. That was a little more effective. Fewer terror cases turned up, and they even took notes occasionally, like everyone else! Had these teachers known that those notes were to each of more unlawful doings, they would have been very unhappy indeed. Well, no, Remus's were sometimes real.

The four Marauders learned quickly too. At the very beginning, they competed over who got the most detentions. But that was too easy, so they contended over who could get the most past the teachers. There was no risk to that, so they tried a novel idea. They wait until a teacher is within hearing distance, and then run. The adrenaline rush made everything tons more enjoyable.

Lately, Sirius had taken to copying homework due next period in class. This left James no option but to sleep, seeing as Remus always gave the teacher his undivided attention, and Peter lost his magical notepaper.

The Astronomy professor was in a very bad mood one day and catching James sleeping did little to improve it. Today was not a practical lesson, but instead just more lectures.

"Potter!" She shouted at least times. No response.

On the third try, James slowly roused from his lethargic state, his eyes fluttering sleepily. The left side of his face felt numb, and he could feel the imprint of his arms on it, so he slowly rolled his head over. The school really needed to get more comfortable desks, for the current one was digging into his chest. He adjusted his position. Still no good. He should have used his bookbag as a pillow. Come to think of it - he should _bring_ a pillow!

The girl beside him nudged him with her elbow. James lifted his eyes, "Is that boring woman done yet? Can we leave?"

He put on his glasses, and too late, saw the professor looming over. Too late, he tried to remedy his mistake. "Because I was dreaming about this really boring woman, see, and she kept explaining about – Mars – over and over. I mean, how many times can you talk about the same planet?" He looked at the blackboard for some inspiration. It just got worse and worse. They were learning about Mars that day. And she had explained it over and over. Some students tittered; Sirius gave his barklike laugh, quickly quelled by the professor's dark look.

She started yelling at James, ending with, "10 points from Gryffindor and see me after class about your detention!" She looked ready to wring James' neck. He must have realized that because he kept silent for the rest of the lesson, which was incredibly clever of him.

* * *

When James' 12th birthday passed, the whole dormitory was filled to the brim with presents. (It would easily have put Dudley's 37 to shame. James was a spoiled little brat, I think I've made my point, but a very clever, very cool, one, which was more than could be said about Dudley.) At first, no one knew what to do with all of it since no one could so much walk in without stepping on some toy other and James positively refused to send any of them back or to dispose of anything at all. But with the help of Hogwarts' house elves, all the presents were safely stored away.

Easter then came and went though this vacation was not nearly as relaxing as Christmas for most students were loaded with mounds and mounds of homework. However, the Marauders managed to play it cool, for, with such an efficient homework system, who could not? And so, they went on as they always did, blowing up classrooms every now and then, bullying students with no intentions of harm but not always ending so, and nicking more and more food from the kitchens. Peter even managed to get the school house-elves to make deliveries to his bed every night. That way, the food was always fresh and right out of the oven.

Peter loved being a member of the Marauders. Not only was it the coolest group of their age, it was also a place of shelter. He loved his friends who were always there to help out in a tough spot. Everyone else seemed to think him a bit of a tag-along, but if anyone dared make fun of him, James, Sirius, and even good little Remus would be on them in a flash. Chances are, that person, or anyone watching that person for the matter, would never try making fun of a Marauder again.

This was somewhat ironic, seeing as James and Sirius seemed to think _they _could torment anyone else, namely Severus Snape. Peter had a feeling that if _he'd_ been sorted into Slytherin, he'd probably have been their victim too. And it would have been worse because he had no talent, which Snape, hard as it was to admit, always had plenty of. None of the Gryffindors had any clue why Lily would hang out with a greasy, dark arts obsessed git like him. She was very popular whereas Snape was so not. He did have his little gang in his own house and was a favorite of Bellatrix Black but was never fully incorporated in the groups, probably because he was always in need of a wash. Still, Lily never seemed to mind and defended him in front of her friends, though Merlin knew why. He seemed to like her company but usually hung out with her when the Slytherins weren't around to sneer. Lily disliked this but for the most part, did not mention it.

The Marauder rarely messed with her. She was as good, and often better, than them in class, because she actually studied and did the work in addition to natural talent, which she, like James and Sirius, had plenty of. She was very good with a wand and could quite easily hex someone when provoked. Besides, its always the ones that _appear_ innocent who slip stuff into your drinks when you're not. And she was good enough at potions to do that.

Pretty soon, the Marauders started to get confused with all the secret passageways in the school. There was just too many to keep track and they were getting confused. And so, Remus suggested a map which the rest soon lauded a brilliant idea. (Mind you, this is just a sketch. Nothing fancy just yet.) They added everything they knew and started hunting for more during their routine nightly wanderings.

"No. We already have that one, remember? And it's located on the 4th floor, not the 3rd."

"I'm talking about this one, James. It leads to the same place, just a different floor."

"How come I never knew about it?"

"Well you know now, don't you?"

And so, the mapping just went on and on like this for the next few years. Every time a passage appears, they map it. Eventually, they get smart and nick the caretaker's list of passageways from his office and add it all on, that is, if they don't already have it. And this kept them occupied and entertained for quite a while.

* * *

So, I hope this chapter was not entirely torture for those who made it to the end. No one did tell me who they thought the most pitiful character. I think it's Sirius. Then again, his brother definitely died the bravest death (or attempted death for the greater good) of anyone there. Maybe the whole family's cursed?

The sleeping in class thing should have been a correction for the last chapter in place of the herbology one. Unfortunately, I deleted the chapter. So I'll improvise and put it here. I'm sure everyone has experience with sleeping in class. The tables are way too hard, and I'm very jealous of those without glasses.

Leave me a review if you can spare a couple seconds and um...joy to the world?


	12. Testing, Quiddich, and Pranks

Okay, I was wrong. I was too complacent in thinking I could fit everything into this chapter so I had nothing in Ch.11 and now I need to add another unless I want a 20 page chapter. (This is for the sake of those who do homework and read at the same time. You'll feel like you're actually working on homework rather than wasting time.)

And so, 13 will be my last chapter ending with a train ride, in James' view, like it began. I would complain about the amounting homework and studying I have to do but it'll just bore you all to death. Well, I hope anyone who reads this enjoys it. And I'm sure no one cares but after flipping through Order of Phoenix, yet again, I have found a new favorite character. Phineas Nigellus: Hogwart's least favorite headmaster. Everything he says is so clever and true at the same time! How could anyone not like him?

* * *

The school year was finally finishing off as June quickly veered around the bend. All the students were panicking over finals ("They're next _week???)_, especially the 5th and 7th years, but besides that worry to which all the students kept pushing pack to a further date, everyone was ecstatic in this happiest of times when school finally ceases to be. For a few months anyway.

The weather at the moment was bright and comfortable, as if the sun itself was celebrating the end of homework and tests and all the hassles of learning. In fact, almost everything, the lake, the castle, even Peeves, evil he may be, mirrored this charming phenomenon.

Remus, however, had mixed feelings. On one hand, he wanted to see his parents after so many months. On the other, he was much happier at Hogwarts where no one knew of his "condition" and where no one shrunk away from "that Lupin werewolf who should be locked up" and where no one treated him like he was a dangerous creature ready to strike at a moment's notice. That had been why he'd been so in love with books before becoming a Marauder: books did not discriminate, and if they did, all you had to do was discard them and pick up another. It's rather more difficult to do with people. He used to whine, "_It's so unfair!_" but realized at last that it never got him anywhere, except perhaps sinking himself even deeper into depression, and got over it. At least he did, most of the time.

At Hogwarts, he actually had friends, though he doubted they'd continue to be his friends once they learned of the "werewolf problem." That was why they would never find out, not this year, or the year after, or the year after that. If they did…well, Remus flat out refused to think of such a thing.

He felt a sort of guilty pleasure when pranking people (innocent one of course); it gave him a source of thrill, a rush of adrenaline he'd never felt before, as opposed to that suffocating feel at full moon when locked up as a wolf against his will. Remus enjoyed discovering secret passageways and drawing it on the newly created map. What could be more fun than nicking food from the kitchens, or even simply walking down the hall, the envy of all his year-mates, and even many of the older students as a valued member of the Marauders?

Mostly, it was the sense of belonging that everyone aches for but not everyone gets. For example, Snape certainly never felt as though he belonged. The closest he'd ever experienced to that sort of sentiment was with Lily, and even that was different. His feelings for her simply were not reciprocated or even noticed. Remus was certainly the more fortunate in this respect. And so, he was bending towards the hope that school would last a little longer and that the days would not pass so fast.

Remus was not alone in this wish. Sirius too was getting quieter and surlier on occasions. His temper, usually relaxed and easy (dogs have sweet tempers!), was certainly shorter after listening to students chatter on about how perfect their summers were going to be and how they couldn't wait to see their family. There'd be this hard gaze in his eyes that only his friends could decipher as jealousy. And of course, they would quickly try to distract him, often by hexing some student or other. Still, there'd remain a disturbance, a sort of listlessness etched on his otherwise perfectly carved face.

But normally Sirius was just as he always was, careless, arrogant, and troublesome, determined to think only of happy thoughts like hexing Snivellus and vexing teachers. In fact, he and James wrecked even more havoc than usual, since this was there last opportunity for the school year. Now, they were back to the record of two or three detentions per night. For Sirius, these were the last few weeks of relative freedom. For James, this was the "final chance to take credit for his pranks since next year, when he got on the quiddich team (note the use of _when_), he would have to be free on evenings for practice." (Sirius appeared aghast until James quickly assured that they would still perform loads of pranks, just out of the spotlight.)

Gryffindor had lost again this year in an appalling defeat to Slytherin of 50 to 370, pushing them into 3rd place. The whole of the match, James had been shouting raucously of how Malfoy was a cheater by blocking Prewett, and how Prewett in turn was an idiot for not knocking Malfoy off his broom, and how Sloper must have been blind not to see the snitch. He did not discriminate on his targets, whether they were Slytherins or Gryffindors, until McGonagall came around telling him to either shut up or leave the stadium. Well, that certainly shut him up and he stayed as quiet as a mouse and only his eyes betrayed his inner rage.

The Gryffindor team really was rather pathetic the past 5 years taking 3rd place, and if lucky, second every time. The team was desperate for some new blood. The only good news was that most of the players would graduate this year but whether the next term would yield better crops was yet to be seen. Only Ravenclaw scored below them this time but they defended themselves by claiming that their OWLs and NEWTs were always "at least 5 times higher." Of course, all the other Houses laughed themselves silly at this statement, true though it may be.

James, Sirius, and Peter all remarked how lucky Remus was to escape such a house where his innocent young mind would be corrupted. Sirius retold horror stories of his conversations with his Ravenclaw cousin back "when he was young" (isn't it cute when little 12 year olds say that) and how obsessed she was with grades. When asked what they do for fun in their spare time at Hogwarts, Andromeda always replied with either a) study or b) get on good terms with teachers (aka, suck up). If they were #1 in the class and knew everything they had to know, then they'd better start panicking cause and start getting ahead. An Exceeds Expectations was almost enough to drive any self-respecting Ravenclaw to tears. Yes, Remus was very lucky to escape that dreaded house.

Normally, Ravenclaw really wasn't that bad but their 7th year captain never showed up because he was too busy studying (typical Ravenclaw, it was his own stupid fault for biting off more than he could chew) so they never really got a chance. Many times, the Ravenclaw team was on the verge of mutiny but it never really followed through for reasons best known to themselves.

Nevertheless, James and Sirius did learn the hard way that there are limitations to their mischief when they started hiding textbooks of various Gryffindors throughout the castle, usually in the armor of some knight decorating the halls. (What they really wanted to do was to cast something to make the whole room invisible but the spell was too complicated and none of the Marauders were willing to put in the time, and so, they put it off until later notice.) OWL and NEWT students were still doing some last minute cramming, so naturally, they went ballistic when they found out the perpetrators. Just for the record, two first years don't stand a chance against some extremely stressed out 7th and 5th years who haven't slept for weeks, and who feel like they're going to fail the entire test due to the loss of half an hour's study time because some wee little 12 year olds felt like messing around. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Head Boy was particularly angry and kicked both of the boys out until the end of testing.

Later, after coming back from the hospital wing 3 days later, James said he was trying to "help" those poor overworked students by giving them some free time. This did not mollify the victims and both James Potter and Sirius Black were still forced to sneak in every night under the Invisibility Cloak, with Remus and Peter's help of course. The Marauders were wonderful, they really were, just as long as they didn't get in their hair on some of the most important days of their life. The OWLs and NEWTs would decide their entire futures, distinguish the Leaky Cauldron dishwashers from the high-ranking Ministry officials, and disruptions could not be tolerated. But after testing ends, both would be welcomed back with open arms. By then, there would be time to relax.

Perhaps James enjoyed breaking the rules so much because at his house, there were practically none to break. And so, those Hogwarts years would make up for the lost 11 and a half. As for Sirius, it may have been because there were simply too many in his own home, making someone naturally rebellious even more so. Either way, they were both a bad influence on Remus, but maybe that was indeed a good thing. He desperately needed some fun in his life, which had been taken from him since he was barely 5. They helped him have fun and make up a bit of the vanished 6 years in between.

It was a symbiotic relationship though, because through his passivity and silent disapproval in their rowdier pranks, Remus made them feel somewhat ashamed and a teeny bit hesitant. Only a little though, and certainly not as much as if he'd been forthright about his opinions. And it made himself feel a lot worse, torn between a desire to belong and a wish to do what a Gryffindor should do. In the end, he always felt guilty but it never got him anywhere so he might as well have disposed of that guilt.

Testing came and all the Marauders passed, James and Sirius with high distinctions, Peter barely scraping through, and Remus somewhere in the middle. Questions ranged from "What is the wand movement and the purpose of the _Wingardum Leviosa_ incantation?" to the practical tests where students were to change a teacup into a quill. Remus's quill still looked as though the center were made of porcelain but was deemed "acceptable" by Professor McGonagall as opposed to Peter's cup with fur surrounding it to which she had not even words to describe (and no, it was not because she was so incredibly impressed). Sirius and James, naturally, got perfect scores without even bothering to study. But next year, for Remus' sake, they'd both suddenly start reading and working because talent alone could not turn them into animagi.

"Can't believe school's almost over. It seemed like what-2 days ago when we came over on the train? And now there's only 2 days left." Remus said, as they walked down to the lake for the last time that year.

"Yeah, it does. No more classes or homework or tests or rules. Just messing around for 2 whole months." James replied.

Remus snorted. "Like you don't do that now. All you ever do is mess around!"

James pretended to look affronted. "Hey! I obey, sometimes!"

"Like when? The time we stole the teachers' wands and fed them to the Giant Squid and Dumbledore had to dive in to persuade him to spit the wands back out? Or when you blew up the Common Room and both you and Sirius were locked out for 2 weeks?"

The four Marauders snickered at the memories.

"Oi! I do some work here but if you always look at the bad side-." Remus interrupted again with a mockingly thoughtful look.

"Let's list it out, see. Rules, you definitely don't obey. I think we all agree on that. Homework, always copy. Class, meaning naptime to make up for our nighttime wanderings. ("Well when else can we sleep?") And tests, do you even notice the fact we actually have one till the teacher hands it to us that very day?"

"But I don't need to look at that rubbish. I know it already." James protested vigorously.

"Well, he's got a point there," Peter said reasonably. "He really doesn't need to study."

"See, at least I've got SOME loyal friends." James said with a cocky grin. (Too bad he was wrong.)

"Typical Remus. Making a list even when we're not in class." Sirius noted, shaking his head.

"Wouldn't you miss Hogwarts, even a little bit?" Remus asked, already nostalgic as he squinted at the castle, despite the brightness of the sunlight.

"Probably later when I've got nothing else to do, I will. But for now, I'll just be glad to be rid of this place." James replied. They'd already approached the lake. He balanced a pebble in his hand and threw it across the water. It skipped, once, twice, three times, before it finally sank into the silvery lake. "Dad's hinted in one of his letter's they've got a present waiting for me. Can't wait to go home. It'd be nice to see them again." In truth, he was much more excited than he let on. That was more than could be said for Sirius.

"Speak for yourself. I've waited 11 long years to be rid of that house of mine and after this entire year, still not feeling the love." He said bitterly. It was the first time he'd directly mentioned how much he dreaded the summer vacation. Sirius threw a rock into the water too. He didn't have James' skill and it immediately dropped.

"Don't you want to go back and see your family at all?" Peter asked timidly. _That was stupid._ Remus thought. We could have avoided this conversation if he didn't say anything.

"No." Sirius said and made a face. "After getting sorted into Gryffindor, Mother'll be a nightmare." He tried to imitate his mother's voice. " 'We will be having a serious discussion of your behavior and the shame you have brought on the family as soon as you get home. We are not at all pleased.' Maybe I'll just lock myself in my room for the summer. I escape them, they escape me. Win-win situation."

The others all looked at each other and shrugged. "You can always come stay at my place, mate." James said quickly.

"Careful. Might just take you up on that some day." Sirius replied gloomily. "Write to me, okay? Or use the mirror. Can't stand being locked up in that house all summer with only my idiot brother for company."

"If I invite you over, do'ya think your parents will let you come?"

"Doubt it." Sirius sighed, throwing some more pebbles into the lake. They all fell. "But maybe if I pester them enough, they'll be desperate to ship me anywhere, even your house. But after Narcissa told them I spent Christmas there, well, I don't know. We'll see I guess."

Remus joined in the pebble-tossing game. But he used his wand and the bouncing spell they'd learned early on in the year. "Ha! I beat you both."

Both James and Sirius objected saying it was unfair and that Remus cheated. For now, the subject was dropped. None of them wanted to talk about something that would bring the rain on such a bright, sunny day. Soon, the boys were strutting around the lake, and two of the four started randomly jinxing people. One watched hungrily, the other turned warily away. _Everything back to normal,_ Remus thought.

* * *

So, tell me what you think of the chapter please. It gives me a giddy feeling that'll distract me from the cruel realities of tests and essays and homework. Next chapter will be the end of year feast and train ride. _then,_ I'll be done. 


	13. Leaving

Ok so this is the last chapter. And I am sorry if it proves disappointing but this is what happens with school and stuff. I'll edit it some day.

And for the final time, thank you so much to all the reviewers out there.

* * *

"In fourth place, Gryffindor, with er – 10 points." Dumbledore announced uncertainly with raised eyebrows during the end-of-year feast. All the points were to be rallied up and, not surprisingly, Gryffindor was last place. 

"Be glad it's not in the negatives!" James Potter shouted from his place at the table. McGonagall's face looked annoyed, and yet it was in a resigned sort of manner as she brought her hand up to cover her exasperated face. Dumbledore on the other hand, looked amused and his clear blue eyes twinkled merrily. James's housemates had not been too happy with being the first house ever to end up in the negatives so there had been a drastic effort to earn back some of those points. It also involved shutting James and Sirius into a broom closet.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. I am very glad for your sake that it is not in the negatives." Dumbledore replied with a smile.

Even the headmaster knew personally each and every member of the Marauders. They were that famous. More than once, McGonagall lost her temper and made the headmaster put up with them. "You deal with them! I give up!" And so, they met up quite often in his lovely office with all the portraits of former heads watching, scandalized at the boys' temerity. But everyone knew those former headmaster and -mistresses were just jealous not to have such brilliant students in their own time. Sirius's great-great-grandfather was on there as well, always with some dry, witty comment. Once, Sirius threw a banana peel at him after a hearing a less than kind remark.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "we must finish announcing the winner of the House-Cup. In 3rd place, Slytherin, with 214 points. In 2nd, Ravenclaw, with 301. And Hufflepuff, with 352 takes first place."

The last words were drowned by a thunderous applause. The Great Hall was decorated with Hufflepuff colors and the students of the winning house were joyously throwing their hats in the air. This was a glory not usually reserved for Hufflepuffs, and so, everyone was all the more excited.

The Ravenclaws told themselves they had too many awards to polish anyway. One more would only take up more time away from studying. Slytherins declared they had bigger, better, things to look towards, especially at that particular time when so many changes were going on in society regarding purity of blood. But all the Hufflepuffs knew those houses were just sore losers.

Gryffindors on the other hand, were different. For them, it had always been lost cause ever since the Marauders came into existence. (Sirius was quite right at the beginning of the year. He did indeed get more detentions than his cousin, Bellatrix. In fact, during the brief year he and James had come to Hogwarts, both accrued more detentions than everyone else in all 7 years.) Fun and games were a worthy trade for some pretty House-Cup. That was the general sentiment, and it was a sincere one.

The Marauders would have loved to play a prank right then and there, but alas, they could not. McGonagall had come over and made them swear not to play any of their little "tricks" during the final feast of the year. They had no choice but to agree, for the alternative was to leave Hogwarts forever. And so, this beautiful opportunity was passed, but the food was wonderful, and that was enough for now.

Professor Dumbledore made some announcements. The only one that James heard was that Professor Winn's was leaving after 17 years of teaching. At this news, there was much ill contained glee. Though admitted by older students to have once been quite brilliant, he was now very much past his prime. He was going senile, and within this past year, his hearing had quickly deteriorated, going from only inattentive, to an almost Binns-like oblivion, where, if actually awake during the lesson, a student was forced to yell 3 or 4 times for any effect. No one noticed that Dumbledore was a little bit anxious at this announcement. No one else could have know that over the summer, Voldemort had come for a job, and when met with a refusal, had cursed the position. Instead, students were saying,

"I can't believe the geezer's finally leaving."

"I know, he should just check into St. Mungo's already."

Conversations of this sort were whispered all throughout the Great Hall. At the same time, they were applauding, as a form of appreciation of Winn's 17 years of service. But no one was worried, for no one knew much about this Lord Voldemort.

And so, everyone continued to stuff themselves with mounds of food, courtesy of all the house elves. Sirius ate with a little less vigor than usual, and Remus seemed rather tired. The full moon was to be in 2 days so he was slightly more down than usual. But James rambled on and on about quidditch the next year and how much fun it would be to play. His parents were planning to buy him another broom to add to his collection. It was to have so many features that were so many times better than any other broom on the planet. Peter was the only one who listened as he shoved mountains of pudding in his mouth. But pretty soon, the meal was done. Some more announcements were made regarding the 7th years who would be leaving for ever. And then everyone were sent back to their rooms to grab their packs and together, they got on the train, heading home for the summer. Many were cheering, James included, but at his best friend's face, suddenly stopped.

"You want to play Exploding Snap?"

"Sure." Sirius replied. Returning home was made all the worse after such a fun school year. Now he knew the warmth and love that was missing in his own house, especially after such a fun time with the Potters. Well, no. Mother was very close to Regulus. But his own little brother, always sucking up to his parents at Sirius's expense, now seemed woefully inadequate in comparison with James with whom he could always rely on. James would risk his own welfare for his friends' sake. Regulus couldn't. But there was no way James could have sensed these thoughts and it was impossible for Sirius to share them. For one, he didn't want to share them. For another, there was no way James could have understood.

But as the train rolled on, James, Remus (though a little wistful) and Peter were all working to contain their excitement. They couldn't wait for summer to really begin, to join up with parents, to eat homemade cookies, to fly around on broomsticks, and all the rest of the activities associated with summer vacation.

James's parents especially was preparing for his long-awaited return. They were extra careful to make everything absolutely perfect for their absolutely perfect son. In their eyes anyway. The truth was, Mr. and Mrs. Potter were often worried about James. There were few around the Godric's Hallow surrounding area who were their son's age and he didn't have any siblings to play with. So, they tried to make up for it by giving him every new gadget or toy available. And of course, their precious son deserved the very best of everything.

James perhaps was almost as eager as his parents were. Of the four, he was probably the closest to his family. That excitement was hard to dampen.

"My family's going to Africa for holiday. We'll be there for a whole month to see some wild animals and stuff. Mum can't wait to go. She's been talking about it for weeks." Peter said as the cards exploded.

"Oh yeah. We've been there but I was only 7 then. I remember it was really hot and this giant elephant tried to stick its head into our car because it was the coolest place around." James answered.

"What?" Remus asked, incredulous.

"Or that might have been a dream. Hard to remember sometimes."

And so, they went on playing. Remus started out reading a book but James quickly pulled it away.

"Remus! You're going to turn into a Ravenclaw soon and I might get infected with those germs. Let's go find Snivellus and hex him. Last chance of the year."

He didn't notice Remus seemed reluctant. Sirius was already there, pulling him up. Within seconds, they were racing down the corridors in search of their Slytherin guinea pig. They found him sharing a compartment with Lily, who eyed them all very coldly.

"What do you want?" She asked, wand in hand.

"The usual - Snivellus! Have you greased your hair again this morning? It looks so – "

"Greasy! Would you like– " Sirius finished for James. But Snape interrupted with a well-placed curse. Immediately, Sirius was on his knees, clutching his side, now spurting blood. James, Peter and Remus went down to check their friend.

"Sev!" Lily reproached as she looked at her friend with shock. James already had his wand out and was aiming a jinx at Snape, who likewise, was prepared for a fight. Quickly, Lily stepped in between them, her wand out as well.

"Both of you! Stop! Potter, I have some dittany here that can heal Black. I'll help him if you and your little friends leave this compartment. Deal?"

James was prepared to argue but at Remus's look, paused to consider. Evans and Snape were both quite extraordinary with their wands and it would mean an extended fight, which would bring a lot more discomfort for Sirius.

"Fine. Where's the potion?" James replied.

Lily went and grabbed some from her trunk after a reproving glance at Snape, who flushed angrily. She gave it to them, as they helped Sirius up, and left, as said.

As James left, he heard her rebuking Snape. "What were you thinking, cursing him like that?"

Defensively, Snape replied, "He started it! They were the ones who came barging in here and if I hadn't made the first move, they would have-"

"But you didn't need to use that spell! As much as they disgust me, even I have to admit they wouldn't go that far! That was out of order, Severus!"

"The spell's not even all that deep. It's not like his life was at risk. You healed them, didn't you?" Snape protested, but now there was a bit of a pleading note. He didn't want to argue with Lily.

"Yes but still! And you might not be all that happy to return home…"

That was all James heard. Sirius was still complaining about Snape and how they would get him back next year. But they resumed their little games and before long, they had reached Kings Cross.

"James!" Mrs. Potter ran to greet her son, her husband right behind her. She pulled him into a hug, extraordinarily tight for her old age. "And Sirius! It's so great to see you again!"

Sirius replied somewhat awkwardly with some sort of variation of a "Great to see you too," before leaving them to their heartfelt reunion.

"The rest of the year was good I hope?" Mr. Potter asked as he in turn gave his son a hug.

"Amazing. We even stole the teachers' wands and fed them to the giant squid! What's the surprise you had for me?" James asked eagerly.

"You'll see when we get home, dear." Mrs. Potter replied fondly.

"James mate, need to go. My mother's waiting and she doesn't look happy. I'll see you come Sept. all right? And be sure to write." Sirius whispered in his friend's ear. Even he had some self-preservation and knew better than to put his mother in an even worse mood by openly talking to a blood traitor.

"Course. You'll try to come over, right?"

James glanced at his best friend's mother. Mrs. Black's eyes were narrowed at the moment. She looked a lot like her son, with the same nose, the same eyes, and the same haughty, indescribable air. But her face was much sharper, and her eyes colder.

"Yeah. Well, I better go. Bye then."

"Bye." James replied with a wave.

Sirius then bade farewell to Remus and Peter, then slowly made his way toward his Mrs. Black.

After a little while, James too said goodbye to the remaining Marauders. And he left King's Cross, happily chatting with his parents as they made their way home. James hoped that one of his friends at least could stay for a while at his. Then all would be perfect.

* * *

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